VJ* ^tntrkx. /• d \ ZOOGRAPHY; OR, THE Beatifies of Mature Dispiapco. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/b22007398_0003 ZOOGRAPHY; OR, THE Beauties of Mature Displaces* IN SELECT DESCRIPTIONS FROM THE ANIMAL, AND VEGETABLE, WITH ADDITIONS FROM THE MINERAL KINGDOM. SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED. BY W. WOOD, F. L. S. ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES, DESIGNED AND ENGRAVED BY MR. WILLIAM DANIELL. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. TIL LONDON: PRINTED FOR CADELL AND DAVIES, IN THE STRAND, % Richard Taylor and Co. Shoe Lane. 180/. « CONTENTS OF THE THIRD VOLUME. # , Page PLANTS. 1 Olive ..... 39 Papyrus ..... 47 Sugar Cane .... 55 Teff ...... 6*8 CoHue ..... 72 Vine ..... 83 Sweet-grass .... 91 Varnish Tree .... 94 Aloe ..... 101 Bamboo ..... 111 Laurel ..... 118 Cashew-nut . . . . . 132 Venus Fly-trap . ... 135 Camrunga .... 138 Mangrove .... 143 Tea Tree 146 VI CONTENTS. Baobab Tree .... • Page 166 Cotton Plant .... 171 Moving Plant .... 184 Indigo ..... 187 Nepenthes .... 196 Bread-fruit Tree m Paper Mulberry . ... 203 Cocoa-nut Tree .... 209 Cork Tree . . ... 214 Fir Tree ..... 218 Cedar Tree .... 231 Tallow Tree .... 237 Syringe Tree .... 240 Betel Tree .... 246 Manihot ..... 250 Mancinella .... 255 Vallisneria . . ... 258 Date Tree ..... 260 Wax Tree . .... 269 Fan-leaved Palm . . 274 Banana Tree .... 277 Sugar Maple .... 286 Sensitive Plant . ... 295 Fig Tree ..... 303 Butter Tree .... 315 Poison Tree .... 317 MINERALS. . 333 Stalactites . .... • 349 Marble ..... • 369 CONTENTS. Vll Fluor Spar Diamond Ruby Emerald Garnet Opal Hydrophane Agate Granite Salt Nitre Bitumen Coal Black Lead Amber Gold Platina Silver Copper Iron Tin Lead Mercury Basaltes Page 375 380 393 398 402 405 409 413 424 429 445 452 460 471 476 480 488 492 501 516 527 537 549 56l \ ' % iqo * - . ' * ZOOGRAPHY; OR, THE Beauties of Mature tnspiapeD* PLANTS. It is a truth familiar to our experience, that all the subjects of the vegetable kingdom (however propa- gated afterwards) were originally produced by seeds ; and it must be obvious to every one, that the per- fecting of the seed is one great intention of Nature in the structure of plants. The contrivance mani- fested to accomplish this important design, will be readily observed as we proceed to trace the plant through its different stages, to a state of maturity. Before we descend to particulars, it will be ne- cessary to observe, that all the seeds of plants have different sheaths, which enclose them till they are VOL. Ill, B 2 PLANTS. lodged in the earth. This covering so defends them from injury, that they may be handled very roughly without the smallest prejudice to their fu- ture growth. Some of these seeds, as the kernels of apples and pears, are placed in the very heart of the fruit. Others grow in shells, such as peas and beans. A third sort, besides their enclosure in the substance of the fruits, are shut up in thick shells of wood ; of this species are almonds, apricots, peaches, plums, &c. Several, besides their wooden shell, have a bitter rind, which is the case of walnuts ; or a covering jagged with prickles to pre- serve the seed from all injury till they have com- pleted their maturity : chestnuts belong to this last class. We must here remark a wronderful effort of Na- ture for the dispersion of the seeds after they have arrived at maturity. While shut up in their re- spective capsules, they can be of no service, since the very covering which defends them from injury wdll prevent their vegetating. But this difficulty, great as in many instances it appears, is removed by the power of Nature; and nuts and shells, which bid defiance to our teeth, will gradually divide and make way for the little tender sprout which proceeds from the kernel. Progress of Vegetation . The common garden bean is usually chosen to exemplify the progress of vegetation, and the sub-* PLANTS. 3 ject is certainly very fit for the purpose ; since its parts, after it begins to vegetate, are more conspicu- ous than many others, and consequently better cal- culated for investigation. The tender parts of the bean, like most other seeds, are covered by one epidermis , or skin, which consists of two coats, or membranes, that may be easily separated from the bud after the bean has been boiled, or deposited for a few days in the earth. When this covering is removed, the body of the seed divides into two smooth portions or lobes. Previous to the removal of the external coat a very small hole may be perceived at the thick end of the bean, through which the future root passes into the soil. The little bud, that precious particle which in time is to become a fruit- ful plant, is sunk like a small stud on the top of the lobes, and consists of a stock and a pedicle. This minute germ is enclosed within corresponding cavities in each lobe ; and the two ends of it, in shooting from the body of the bean, take contrary directions; the root descends into the earth through the little hole already mentioned, and there divides into a great number of smaller branches, which serve as so many canals to convey the necessary sap for the nourishment of the future plant. The bud, on the contrary, ascends into the open air, where it unfolds itself, and by degrees shoots into that beautiful assemblage of stem leaves and flowers, which are so conspicuous in most of the vegetable creation. 4 PLANTS. In the structure, and for the preservation, of this embryo plant, as much contrivance is shown, as in subjects of much more apparent importance. The animal, when first brought into the world, has its nourishment supplied by a different source indeed, but not by a contrivance more manifest than this ; for the young plant, before its roots are strong enough to draw a sufficient support from the earth, is nourished by the lobes ; which, like milk to the new-born animal, invigorate the tender stem till their services are no longer required. In the germination of seeds, a fact may be ob- served which will prove how careful Nature has been to provide against any failure in her opera- tions. If a seed is thrown into the ground — it mat- ters not of what species, or in what direction — the root will invariably strike downwards, and the bud find its way into the air. The late archdeacon of Carlisle, whose works are so deservedly admired, has the following passage to this effect in his Na- tural Theology : “ When a grain of corn is cast into the ground, this is the change which takes place. From one end of the grain issues a green sprout ; from the other a number of white fibrous roots. How can this be explained ? — Why not sprouts from both ends ? Why not fibrous threads from both ends? To what is the difference to be re- ferred, but to design ; to the different uses which the parts are hereafter to serve ; uses which dis- cover themselves in the sequel of the process ? The sprout, or plumule, struggles into the air, and be- PLANTS. 5 coines the plant, of which, from the first, it con- tained the rudiments : the fibres shoot into the earth ; and thereby both fix the plant to the ground and collect nourishment from the soil for its sup- port. Now, what is not a little remarkable, the parts issuing from the seed take their respective directions, into whatever position the seed itself hap- pens to be cast. If the seed be thrown into the wrongest possible position, that is, if the ends point in the ground, the reverse of what they ought to do, every thing, nevertheless, goes on right. The sprout, after being pushed down a little way, makes a bend and turns upwards ; the fibres, on the con- trary, after shooting at first upwards, turn down.” The inference which we must draw from all this is evident. It is one of Nature’s laws for the pre- servation of her products, which can never be over- turned. “ For,” says Paley, u the toil of the hus- bandman would have been in vain ; his laborious and expensive preparation of the ground in vain ; if the event must, after all, depend upon the po- sition in which the scattered seed was sown. Not one seed out of a hundred would fall in a rio lit O direction.” This is certainly a very curious phe- nomenon ; for although almost all plants rise a little crooked, and will go out of their way to avoid any obstruction which they may meet with in their passage to the surface of the earth, and will even make a second bend, or elbow, without rectifying the first ; yet will they afterwards shoot up per- pendicularly, never leaving the ground in an ir- 6 plants. dined position. This singular circumstance, like a great many others which occur every day, is looked upon without the smallest surprise ; and, for want of novelty, is passed by unnoticed : but the natura- list, who is in the habit of observing every operation of Nature, will find the subject sufficiently interest- ing to arrest his attention. Having thus briefly described the manner in which the young vegetable shoots from its sheath, and bursts into life ; we shall leave the further con- sideration of seeds for the present, and proceed to the other essential parts of the plant, beginning with the root. The Root. Every root, after it has arrived at a certain age, has a double skin. The first exists in the seed, and is sent out with the radicle ; but afterwards there is a ring, which grows from the bark and forms a se- cond skin. This becomes loose; and in the dande- lion, towards the end of May, the outer skin appears shrivelled, and is easily separated from the new one, which is fresher, and adheres firmly to the bark. In this respect the roots of plants resemble many of the reptile tribe, which annually change their skins. Perennial plants, in particular, are supplied in this manner with a new skin every year ; the outer one falling off in the autumn or winter, and a new one supplying its place in the spring. There is a bark covering the roots of trees, which in most species is very thin in proportion to the PLANTS. 7 wood and pith ; but this is not the case with suc- culent vegetables, such as carrots, in which the bark forms almost one half of the semidiameter of the root, and in dandelion it is nearly twice as thick as the woody part. The bark is composed of two substances; the pulp, which is the principal part, and a few woody fibres. The pulpy part is full of pores, or vessels, which are not pervious so as to communicate with each other; but consist of distinct little cells or bladders, scarcely visible without the assistance of a micro- scope. In all roots these cells are constantly filled with a thin watery liquor. In many roots, as the horse-radish, asparagus, potatoe, &c. the pulp is of an uniform structure. But in others it is more di- versified, and puts on the shape of rays, running from the centre towards the circumference of the bark. These rays generally stand at an equal di- stance from each other, in the same plant ; but the distance varies greatly in different plants. A num- ber of ligneous vessels are dispersed through the substance of the root, which are tubular, and serve for the conveyance of the sap to nourish the trunk and branches. These vessels are disposed in a lon- gitudinal direction, and ascend the whole length of the plant. Instead of running in a direct line, as we should naturally expect to find them ; they incline at small distances, towards each other, so as to form packets of fibres, connected together by the pulpy substance of the root. Thus the vessels pass in an oblique direction from one range to another, so as 8 PLANTS. somewhat to resemble the meshes of a large net; and in such a manner that the fibrous vessels frequently admit of spaces between them, which are sometimes in the form of a lozenge, sometimes square, but generally oblong. In all plants they are most nu- merous towards the inner edge of the bark. It is unnecessary to add, that roots differ exceedingly in their formation, as this must be obvious to every one; the bulbous, the taper, and the fibrous root being constantly in use for culinary purposes. The Trunk. In passing to the trunk of the tree (the observa- tions on which apply equally to the branches) it will be necessary to premise, that it is only a conti- nuation of the same parts we have already described, though frequently very different in its texture and appearance. The bark is the first thing which occurs to our notice, the principal body of which consists of pulp, and an innumerable assemblage of minute vessels. This part of the tree may be divided into the in- ward bark, or fine skin immediately contiguous to the wood ; the epidermis, or outward skin, which is a net extending over all the exterior surface of the tree ; and the intermediate bark, or thick sub- stance between the two preceding skins. The fine bark is a very singular production in trees ; it seems to be a collection of little skins, or a tissue of fibres glewed over one another ; the first and innermost round of which disengages itself from PLANTS. 9 the rest in the spring, and adds a new circumfe- rence to the wood through its whole length. Trees, like insects and reptiles, have several skins folded over one another ; but with this difference, that reptiles and insects divest themselves of these first skins, and entirely quit them, to appear, from time to time, in a new form, and with additional splen- dour; whereas trees have annually a new habit, but then it is cast over the preceding, and merely serves to form an additional ring. It is evident that the fine bark furnishes the tree with the rounds of fibres that yearly enlarge its bulk, because when the large bark, with that which is inward, is cut off in any part, leaving the wood exposed to view, the wood will never receive any augmentation there; both the bark and the wood continue their growth in the ad- joining parts, but the aperture remains as it was first made, and can only be closed in process of time, by the lengthening of the protuberances formed by the neighbouring fibres. It is easy to distinguish the annual accretions in trees. It is only necessary to cut a trunk, or a large branch, horizontally, to discover the several circles, or different degrees of thickness round the heart ; and we may infallibly determine the years of the tree’s age, by the number of circles visible in the wood: the last revolutions are always of a lighter consistence ; they are called the sappy parts of the wood, and are rejected by workmen, as too light to be any way serviceable to their purpose. These soft parts contract a solidity in the succeeding years; 10 PLANTS. they likewise become more compact, and in no par- ticular differ from the real wood. The tree, by its perpetual increase in strength and circumference, forces the fibres of the bark to stretch and extend themselves, so that the outward surface sometimes bursts with a surprising noise : this occasions the crevices, which are always enlarging the external bark in proportion to the growth of the tree. Immediately under the bark lies the wood, which forms by far the greatest part of the trunk and large branches of trees. The layers of which it consists, and which, as we have just remarked, de- termine the age of the tree, are chiefly composed of longitudinal fibres that once afforded a passage for the sap, but whose orifices are obliterated by com- pression, and become solid and impervious. The pith, which in the large trunks of many trees dis- appears altogether, occupies the centre of the wood, and consists of a system of little cells separated by interstices or partitions of a very thin texture. Ana- tomists have compared the cells to bladders. We have observed that the bark, as well as the sappy parts, is composed of long rows of tubes or hollow fibres, that ascend and join together, or have a communication with one another by the agency of transverse fibres ; w hich consequently leaves se- veral spaces between these fibres. All these kinds of open meshes are filled with little vessels, or bags, of an oval form, pierced at the two extremities, and joined to one another at each end like a string of beads; ranged at the same time in heaps one above PLANTS. 11 another, and extending in a horizontal line from the outward bark across the other two, and the wood, and so to the pith itself: these vessels are generally filled with sap. Beside the fibres that ascend from the root, and constitute the wood and bark, there are other vessels disposed in the same manner, and ranged along the fibres at proper intervals of distance, through the trunk and branches of the wood ; these form the air vents, and the vessels properly so called. They are a set of tubes, composed of fibres revolving in a spiral line, and in one part extended in little ramifications to the external air ; in the other con- tinued and enlarged to the very root. These vessels are always empty. The Sap . The consideration of the vessels which are ap- pointed for the conveyance of nourishment to the different parts of the plant, naturally leads us to the circulation of the sap, about which such contradic- tory opinions have been maintained. Some suppose that the vegetable sap circulates in the plant in the same manner that blood does in animals; while others affirm that it only ascends in the day-time, and de- scends again in the night : these different opinions have both had their advocates; but as the most pow- erful reasoning seems to be against the regular cir- culation of the sap, we shall confine ourselves to that side of the question, and relate some few of the arguments which Dr. Hales has made use of to esta- blish the point. 12 PLANTS. In the Vegetable Statics, the Doctor has recorded a great many experiments, the result of which tends to prove that he is right in his conjecture respecting the non-circulation of the sap ; but as these experi- ments are by far too numerous to be inserted in this place, we shall content ourselves with some of his general observations. “ In animals,” says the Doctor, “ it is the heart which sets the blood in motion, and makes it con- tinually circulate; but in vegetables we can discover no other cause of the sap’s motion but the strong at- traction of the capillary sap-vessels, assisted by the brisk undulations and vibrations caused by the sun’s warmth, whereby the sap is carried up to the top of the tallest trees, and is there perspired off through the leaves : but when the surface of the tree is greatly diminished by the loss of its leaves, then also the perspiration and motion of the sap are pro- portionably diminished, as is plain from many of the foregoing experiments : so that the ascending velocity of the sap is principally accelerated by the plentiful perspiration of the leaves, thereby making room for the fine capillary vessels to exert their vastly attracting power, which perspiration is ef- fected by the brisk rarefying vibrations of warmth ; a power that does not seem to he any ways well adapted to make the sap descend from the tops of vegetables by different, vessels to the root. “ If the sap circulated, it must needs have been seen descending from the upper part of large gashes cut in branches set in water, and with columns of PLANTS. 13 water pressing on their bottoms in long glass tubes. In both which cases, it is certain that great quan- tities of water passed through the stem, so that it must needs have been seen descending, if the return of the sap downwards were by trusion or pulsion, whereby the blood of animals is returned through the veins to the heart ; and that pulsion, if there were any, must necessarily be exerted with pro- digious force, to be able to drive the sap through the finer capillaries. So that, if there be a return of the sap downwards, it must be by attraction, and that a very powerful one, as we may see by many of these experiments. But it is hard to conceive what and where that power is which can be equivalent to that provision Nature has made for the ascent of the sap in consequence of the great perspiration of the leaves. “ The instances of the jessamine-tree, and of the passion-tree, have been looked upon as strong proofs of the circulation of the sap, because their branches, which were far below the inoculated bud, were gilded ; but we have many visible proofs in the vine, and other bleeding trees, of the sap's receding back and pushing forwards alternately at different times of the day and night. And there is great reason to think that the sap of all other trees has such an alternate receding and progressive motion, occasioned by the alternacies of day and night, warm and cool, moist and dry. For the sap in all vege- tables does probably recede in some measure from the tops of the branches, as the sun leaves them ; 14 PLANTS. because, its rarefying power then ceasing, the greatly rarefied sap, and air mixed with it, will condense, and take up less room than they did, and the dew and rain will then be strongly imbibed by the leaves; whereby the body and branches of the vegetable, which have been much exhausted by the great eva- poration of the day, may at night imbibe sap and dew from the leaves ; for, by several experiments, plants were found to increase considerably in weight, in dewy and moist nights. And, by other experi- ments on the vine, it was found that the trunk and branches of vines were always in an imbibing state, caused by the great perspiration of the leaves, ex- cept in the bleeding season ; but when at night that perspiring power ceases, then the contrary imbibing power will prevail, and draw the sap and dew from the leaves, as well as moisture from the roots. u The instance of the ilex grafted upon the English oak, seems to afford a very considerable ar- gument against a circulation. For if there were a free uniform circulation of the sap through the oak and ilex, why should the leaves of the oak fall in winter, and not those of the ilex?” These arguments, founded on many well con- ducted experiments, are strongly against the theory of an uniform circulation of the sap in vegetables, through different vessels, in the same manner as takes place in the animal oeconomy ; but that this matter may be cleared up as much as possible, we shall add the following decisive experiment, made by M. Mustel of the Academy of Sciences at Rouen. PLANTS. 15 “ On the 12th of January I placed several shrubs in pots against the windows of my hot-house, some within the house and others without it. Through holes made for this purpose in the panes of glass, I passed a branch of each of the shrubs, so that those on the inside had a branch without, and those on the outside one within ; after this, I took care that the holes should be exactly closed and luted. This inversed experiment, I thought, if followed closely, could not fail of affording sufficient points of comparison to trace out the differences by the observation of the effects. “ The 20th of January, a week after this dispo- sition, all the branches that were in the hot-house began to disclose their buds. In the beginning of February there appeared leaves ; and towards the end of it, shoots of a very considerable length, which presented the young flowers. A dwarf apple- tree, and several rose-trees, being submitted to the same experiment, showed the same appearance then as they commonly put on in May: in short, all the branches which were within the hot-house, and consequently kept in the warm air, wrere green at the end of February, and had their shoots in great forwardness. Very different were those parts of the same tree which were without, and exposed to the cold. None of these gave the least sign of vegeta- tion; and the frost, which was intense at that time, broke a rose pot placed on the outside, and killed some of the branches of that very tree which, on the inside, was every day putting forth more and 1 6 PLANTS. more shoots, leaves, and buds; so that it was in full vegetation on one side, whilst frozen on the other. “ The continuance of the frost occasioned no change in any of the internal branches. They all continued in a very brisk and verdant state, as if they did not belong to the tree, which, on the out- side, appeared in the state of the greatest suffering. On the 15th of March, notwithstanding the seve- rity of the season, all was in full bloom. The ap- ple-tree had its root, its stem, and part of its branches, in the hot-house. These branches were co- vered with leaves and flowers ; but the branches of the same tree, which were carried on the outside, and exposed to the cold air, did not in the least partake of the activity of the rest, but were abso- lutely in the same state which all trees are in during winter. A rose-tree, in the same position, showed long shoots with leaves and buds ; it had even shot a vigorous branch upon its stalk ; whilst a branch which passed through to the outside had not begun to produce any thing, but was in the same state with other rose-trees left in the ground. This branch is four lines in diameter, and 18 inches high. “ The rose-tree, on the outside, was in the same state; but one of its branches, drawn through to the inside of the hot-house, was covered with leaves and rose-buds. It was not without astonishment that I saw this branch shoot as briskly as the rose-tree which was in the hot-house, whose roots and stalks, exposed as they were to the warm air, ought, it PLANTS. 1 7 should seem, to have made it get forwarder than a branch belonging to a tree, whose roots, trunk, and all its other branches, were at the very time frost- nipped. Notwithstanding this, the branch did not seem affected by the state of its trunk ; but the ac- tion of the heat, upon it produced the same effect as if the whole tree had been in the hot-house.” In France we find Duhamel and Delahire con- tending for the regular and uniform circulation ot this fiuid in vegetables; and Mr. Knight, in some of the late volumes of the Philosophical Transactions, has supported an opinion to the same effect. As soon as the spring commences, if the frost has left the ground, the sap begins to rise m plants, and that with such force, when the weather is favourable, that the cut end of a vine branch has supported a column of mercury 32-L inches high. There can be no doubt that the sap flows from the root of the tree to the very extremity of its branches; for, if a num- ber of openings be made in a tree when the sap is beginning to rise, it will first appear at the lowest wound, then at the next to the lowest, and so on successively, till it flows from the highest of all. This was proved in a pleasing manner by some fo- reign philosophers, who made plants vegetate in coloured honors, and found that the wood became coloured as the sap rose, till at length it reached the top of the tree and tinged the very leaves. A great part of the sap, after it has flowed to the leaves, is carried off' by perspiration, and the quan- tity perspired has been proved, by several philoso- VOL. III. c 18 PLANTS. pliers, to bear a great proportion to the moisture imbibed. We learn from the experiments of Mr. Woodward, that a sprig of mint in seventy-seven days absorbed 2558 grains of water, and yet its weight was only increased fifteen grains ; therefore it must have perspired 2543 grains. Several other ex- periments were tried with similar results ; all tend- ing to prove the great evaporation which is conti- nually taking place from the surface of plants. It must be remarked that light and heat greatly pro- mote this perspiration ; for in the night a much less quantity is carried off’ and little or none during a frost, or while it rains. Absorbing Power of Plants. A very singular part of the ceconorny of vegetable substances (which proves, by the way, how care- ful Nature has been to make this part of the crea- tion essentially serviceable to our health,) is their ability to absorb the bad air from the atmosphere, and at the same time to return what is fit for respi- ration in the room of it. We are indebted for this singular discovery to the indefatigable Dr. Priestley, who, in the year 1771, made a sprig of mint vege- tate for ten days, in a quantity of air which had been previously vitiated and rendered unfit for respiration : in consequence of this vegetation, however, the bad air was so far improved as to sutler a candle to burn in it, and to be very nearly restored to its ori- ginal purity. This pure air, or oxygen gas, is emit- PLANTS. 19 ted in the greatest quantity when the plants are ex- posed to the bright light of day. The sun’s influ- ence appears to assist them powerfully in this pro- cess, and light is so essentially necessary that 110 respirable air is passed ofl‘ from their leaves 111 its absence. The air which is absorbed from the atmosphere by plants, is of the same nature as that which floats on all fermenting surfaces ; it is well known in the brewery, and gives spirit to the mineral waters: — this used to be called fixed air, but is now named car- bonic acid gas. The leaves of plants are known to imbibe water as well as air; and this accounts for the great effect which dew, slight showers, and even wetting the leaves, have in recruiting the strength of the plants. M. Bonnet has proved, that leaves continue to live for weeks when one of their surfaces is applied to water, and that they not only vegetate themselves, but even imbibe enough to support the vegetation of a whole branch, and the leaves belonging to it. He discovered also, that the two surfaces of leaves differ very considerably in their absorbing power; that in trees and shrubs, the absorbing property is almost confined to the under surface, while the contrary holds in many other plants. That all vegetables owe their green colour to the action of light, is sufficiently obvious, since a plant confined in a dark place will consequently be white; in this situation its natural propensity will not leave it, it will seek that which is intended to promote 20 PLANTS. its welfare, and if there is a chink in the apartment which admits the light, it will grow towards it. If the plant be afterwards removed into the open air, it will soon lose its sickly appearance, recover, at least in a degree, its strength, and assume its natural colour. 1 he knowledge of this fact has suggested to us the means ol improving several of our succu- lent vegetables ; and yet there are many gardeners who earth up their celery, and tie up their lettuces; and many persons who consume both, without be- ing at all aware how this change is really effected. Irritability of the Organs of Plants. This is a curious and interesting part of the vege- table ceconomy ; it occurs in many instances, and the motion produced is always the same in each in- dividual, however frequently it may be repeated. A considerable number of plants are more or less irritable, according to their age, their strength, or the part which is touched. This is not only visible in their leaves, but extends to the flowers, and the different parts of fructification. Among other au- thors who have noticed this very curious property, we must not neglect to mention M. Duhamel, who has admirably described the motion of the sensitive plant. Bonnet, likewise, in his Recherches sur I usage cles Feint les, has observed that, in their mo- tions, they always present their surface to the open air, and that whenever the branch.es of the shrub are displaced the leaves constantly take a new PLANTS. 21 position. Linnaeus, again, has pushed his remarks on this subject still further. This celebrated na- turalist watched the daily motion of the leaves of a considerable number of plants, and published his account of them in a dissertation entitled Sonmus Plantarum. From having observed that many flowers open and shut regularly at certain hours in the day, he conceived an idea, as pleasing as it was ingenious, viz. that they form a kind of time-piece, to which he has given the name of Floras clock. We shall hereafter have occasion to mention the Dioncea muscipula, and the Hedysarum gyrans, one of which is a remarkable instance of vegetable irri- tability, and the other of spontaneous motion. Several observations have been made on the motion of the stamina of flowers, which prove that they are actuated by some secret impulse, which impels them to deposit the dust of their antherae on the end of the pistil. The anthers of many species of lily, before they open, are attached lengthways to the filaments parallel to the style, and at the distance from it of nearly half an inch. The moment that the pollen, or dust, begins to be shed, the same anthers begin to move upon the filaments which sustain them ; they sensibly ap- proach the stigma, one after another, and, having spread their fecundating dust upon that organ, retire almost immediately to their former stations. This movement is particularly apparent in the JLilium super bum Linn. The stamens of the Amaryllis forrnosissima, the 22 PLANTS. Pancratium maritimum , and of the Pancratium illy- ricum, present us with a singular phaenomenon, somewhat different from that which we have just noticed. The anthers of these plants, before the flowers blow, are, like those of the lily, attached lengthways to the filaments; but when the little boxes containing the pollen begin to open, they as- sume an horizontal direction, and sometimes turn upon the end of the filament as on a pivot, always presenting to the stigma that part of the anther from whence the fecundating dust is beginning to escape. A still more obvious phaenomenon, of a similar nature, may be observed in the Fritillaria persica. This plant has six stamens, which, before the flower has arrived at perfection, are removed from the style to the distance of a quarter of an inch, or more; but in a short time their situation is changed; for we perceive, almost directly after the flower is in bloom, that they alternately approach the stvle, and apply their anthers against the stigma. When they have effected their purpose, by shedding their pollen, they return in the order in which they ap- proached, each taking the same place in the flower- cup which it occupied before. All this passes sometimes in the space of twenty-four hours. Move- ments analogous to these may be observed in the stamens of the flowering rush , and, though in a very slight degree, in some species of garlic ; in the star of Bethlehem, and in asparagus. But this irritability in the stamens is not con- PLANTS. 23 fined to the liliaceous plants alone; it has been ob- served in many species of vegetables totally differ- ent from each other. The rues, for instance, pre- sent us with a striking example, and one that is easily put to the proof. All the plants of this genus have from eight to ten stamens ; before the pollen is shed they may be seen to form a right angle with the pistil, arranged two-and-two in the concavity of each petal. When the time is ar- rived for the dispersion of their pollen, they form themselves two-and-two, or three-and-three, to- gether, describing a complete quarter of a circle. Thus they bring their anthers towards the stigma ; and after having deposited their pollen they retire to their former distance, and are again enclosed within the concavity of the petals. In the white dittany, Dictanmus albus Linn, we have another example to elucidate our present subject. Before the flower is come to perfection, the filaments that support the anthers bend towards the earth, so as almost to touch the base of the petals. As soon as A* the anthers are ready to open, and the pistil is fit to receive the pollen, the filaments bend, one after an- other, in an arch towards the style : by this sort of movement they place themselves immediately be- hind the stigma, so that the fecundating powder cannot fail to be spread upon that organ. These examples will suffice to show how careful Nature is in this particular, to secure the preserva- tion of the future plant, by fertilizing the tender seed at the bottom of the pistil, through the me- 24 PLANTS. dium of the pollen. Many other instances of a similar nature might be brought forward, if neces- sary, to prove the same thing ; but what we have already said, is enough to excite the attention of those who think the study of Nature worth their contemplation, and all we could add to the subject, would be of little avail to those who have no relish for such pursuits. Dispersion of Seeds , and Preservation of Plants. There cannot be more manifest proofs of an all-di- recting power in the different departments of nature, than this; where such evident marks of contrivance are seen for the preservation of the embryo vegetable. It was clearly the intention of the Deity, that every part of the earth should be covered with plants; and to effect this purpose, he has adapted different spe- cies to different climates. Some will grow on the alpine heights and bear all the rigours of an inhos- pitable climate, while others flourish under the in- fluence of a burning sun. But it was not sufficient that the same plants should for ever be confined to their own district. If this had always been the case, many species might in time have become extinct; they might have so choked each other as to prevent, either their own growth, or the propagation of their seeds. To prevent this, the Author of Nature has contrived to disseminate the seeds in a very won- derful manner: for this purpose, we find many en- dowed with what are not improperly called wings, PLANTS. 25 the most familiar instances of which (among a great number) are the thistle and dandelion. These have downy appendages with which they may be seen floating in the air in great quantities, and are thus carried by the current to a considerable distance from the parent plant. Some are furnished with hooks, by which they adhere to the coats of animals, and are carried by them to a distance; while others are dispersed by birds, who carry them to different si- tuations,where they are deposited and afterwards take root. It must not be omitted, that in many genera the seeds are dispersed with violence by the sudden bursting of the vessels which contain them. There is a remarkable instance of this, and one which we may command at pleasure, in the different species of fern. These plants, to the casual observer, ap- pear to be without seeds ; but, upon examining the under surface of their leaves, rows of conical dots may be seen, and in each little protuberance many a future fern is concealed. These little cones are covered by a very fine, thin, semitransparent skin, which bursts open before the seeds are ripe. The seeds themselves are enclosed within a globular capsule, which is surrounded by an elastic cord. When the seeds are ripe, the cord endeavours to be- come straight, and, by its elasticity, tears open the capsule and scatters the seeds. These are very minute objects, and hardly visible to the naked eye; but, by the assistance of a good single microscope and reflecting speculum, they may be clearly de- tected. In the months of September and October, 26 PLANTS. this curious mechanism is very evident in the com- mon brakes, and in the hart’s-tongue ; hut the sudden jerk of the springing cord frequently car- ries the seeds out of the field of the microscope, and sometimes defeats the purpose of the observer. The common horsetail, which pushes up its solitary club-shaped head in the spring, affords another in- stance of this singular mechanism. The seeds of this plant are minute oval bodies, with two, three, or four slender threads attached to each. If the ripe fern be shaken over a piece of white paper, a greenish powder falls out, which at first appears full of animation, but soon becomes quiet. This powder is the seed, and the motion is occasioned by tbe contraction of the elastic threads ; for a good microscope readily discovers all this, and exposes to our view the little oval bodies with their slender threads. Moisture will immediately put the whole collection into motion ; the slightest breath will make the threads coil about the seeds, but in a moment, becoming dry, they expand again : after several expansions and contractions, they detach themselves, still contracting when moistened, and gradually bending from a straight line into a circle. They are so very susceptible of moisture, that, Dr. Withering informs us, if a drop of water be pushed toward them, thev will contract before it touches their bodies. This property is so very singular, that a person unacquainted with the cause might readily he excused for supposing each seed a living insect. Some seeds assist their projection to a distance in PLANTS. 2/ a very surprising manner. The crupina, a species of centaury, has its seeds covered over with erect bristles, by which assistance it creeps and moves about in such a manner, that it is by no means to be kept in the hand. If you confine one of them between the stocking and the foot, it creeps out either at the sleeve or neck-band, travelling over the whole body. If the bearded oat, after harvest, be left with other grain in the barn, it extricates it- self from the glume ; nor does it stop in its pro- gress till it gets to the walls of the building. This progression is purely mechanical, and is thus ef- fected : every oat has a spiral awn or beard annexed to it, which contracts in wet and extends in dry weather. When the spiral is contracted it drag’s the oat along with it : the arista being bearded with minute hairs pointing downward, obliges the grain to follow; but when it expands again the beard can- not go back to its former place, on account of its roughness, which bending the contrary way pre- vents the return of the oat. The care which Nature takes to nourish her pro- ductions, to defend them from injury, and to sup- port those which are too weak to bear their own weight, is sufficiently obvious in many of the vege- table tribe. To enter fully upon this subject would be foreign to our purpose ; but a few instances may be selected that will serve as examples of the whole. There is no where a more manifest proof of de- 28 PLANTS. sign in respect to the care which Nature takes to nourish the embryo plant, than in the Jacobean lily. This is a familiar example, and worth a hundred of those which can easily be recorded, but with difficulty put to the proof. The pistil in this plant (when sufficient heat is given it to make it flower in perfection) is bent downwards, and from its stigma issues a drop of limpid fluid, so large that one would think it in danger of falling to the ground. It is, however, gradually reabsorbed into the style about three or four o’clock, and becomes invisible till about ten the next morning, when it appears again ; by noon it attains its largest di- mensions ; and in the afternoon, by a gentle and scarcely perceptible decrease, it returns to its source. If we shake the antherae over the stigma, so that the pollen may fall on this limpid drop, we see the fluid soon after become turbid, and assume a yellow colour ; and we perceive little rivulets, or opake streaks, running from the stigma towards the rudi- ments of the seed. Thus is the little germ, which is seated at the bottom of the pistil, nourished and brought to maturity by a process as simple as it is obvious. Among those instances which may be brought forward to prove how carefully the tender parts of plants are defended from injury, is the autumnal crocus, or meadow saffron. The forlorn state of this plant attracted the notice of the late Dr. Paley; who, though he has added nothing new in respect PLANTS. 29 to its natural history, has described it in a manner so truly his own, and has placed it in such an in- teresting light, that we shall gladly avail ourselves of his account. Speaking of the compensatory system in the au- tumnal crocus, the doctor says: “ I have pitied this plant a thousand times. Its blossom rises out of the ground in the most forlorn condition possible ; without a sheath, a fence, a calyx, or even a leaf to protect it ; and that not in the spring, not to be visited by summer suns, but under all the disad- vantages of the declining year. When we come however to look more closely into the structure of this plant, we find that instead of its being neg- lected, Nature has gone out of her course to pro- vide for its security, and to make up to it for all its defects. JThe seed-vessel, which in other plants is situated within the cup of the flower, or just be- neath it, in this plant lies buried ten or twelve inches under ground within the bulbous root. The tube of the flower, which is seldom more than a few tenths of an inch long, in this plant extends down to the root. JThe styles always reach the seed-vessel ; but it is in this, by an elongation un- know n to any other plant. All these singularities contribute to one end. ‘ As this plant blossoms late in the year, and, probably, would not have time to ripen its seeds before the access of winter, which would destroy them, Providence has con- trived its structure such, that this important office may be performed at a depth in the earth out of the 30 PLANTS. reach of the usual effects of frost That is to say, in the autumn nothing is done above ground but the business of impregnation ; which is an affair between the antherse and the stigmata, and is pro- bably soon over. The maturation of the impreg- nated seed, which in no other plants proceeds within a capsule, exposed together with the rest of the flower to the open air, is here carried on, and during the whole winter, within the heart, as we may say, of the earth, that is, 4 out of the reach of the usual effects of frost.’ But then a new difficulty presents itself. Seeds, though perfected, are known not to vegetate at this depth in the earth. Our seeds therefore, though so safely lodged, would after all be lost to the purpose for which all seeds are in- tended. Lest this should be the case, 4 a second admirable provision is made to raise them above the surface when they are perfected, and to sow them at a proper distance viz. the germ grows up in the spring , upon a fruit-stalk, accompanied with leaves. The seeds now, in common with those of other plants, have the benefit of the summer, and are sown upon the surface. The order of vegeta- tion externally is this : the plant produces its flow- ers in September; its leaves and fruits in the spring following.” In the third place, those which are too weak to support their own weight, are provided with ten- drils, by which they are enabled either to form an * With. Bot. Arr. vol. i. p. 360, 2ded. PLANTS. 31 union, as it were, with each other, and thus mu- tually sustain themselves; or to cling round plants of a firmer texture, and thus effect the same pur- pose, though by somewhat different means. Here we must again have recourse to Dr. Paley, who considers the general property of climbing plants as strictly mechanical. “ In these plants, from each knot or joint, or, as botanists call it, axilla of the plant, issue, close to each other, two shoots ; one bearing the flower and fruit, the other drawn out into a wire; a long, tapering, spiral tendril, that twists itself round any thing that lies within its reach. Considering, that, in this class, two pur- poses are to be provided for, (and together) fructi- fication and support, the fruitage of the plant, and the sustentation of the stalk, what means could be used more effectual, or, as I have said, more me- chanical, than what this structure presents to our eyes ? Why, or how, without a view to this double purpose, do two shoots of such different and appro- priate forms spring from the same joint, from con- tiguous points of the same stalk ?” It never hap- pens thus in robust plants, or in trees. “ We see not,” says Ray, “ so much as one tree, or shrub, or herb, that hath a firm and strong stem, and that is able to mount up and stand alone without as- sistance, furnished with these tendrils .” Make only so simple a comparison as that between a pea and a bean. Why does the pea put forth tendrils, and the bean not; but because the pea cannot support itself, the bean can ? We may add also as a cir- 32 PLANTS. cumstance not to be overlooked, that in the pea tribe these clasps do not make their appearance till they are wanted; till the plant has grown to a height to stand in need of support.” It has been suggested by the ingenious Dr. Per- cival, that plants have a power of perception which actuates their motions, and that to think otherwise is to deviate from the soundest rules of philosophy. However this may be, we must confess ourselves more inclined to believe that a mechanical impulse is the general cause of action in the vegetable crea- tion, than that, like animals, they are endued with the powers both of perception and enjoyment. The doctor’s speculations are published in the second volume of the Manchester Transactions ; and, as a specimen of the ingenuity with which he has sup- ported his opinion, we shall give the following ex- tract : “ Mr. Miller, in his late account of the island of Sumatra, mentions a species of coral, which the inhabitants have mistaken for a plant, and have denominated it lalan-cout , or sea-grass. It is found in shallow bays, where it appears like a straight stick, but when touched withdraws itself into the sand. Now, if self-moving faculties like these indicate animality, can such a distinction be denied to vegetables, possessed of them in an equal or superior degree ? The water lily, be the pond deep or shallow in which it grows, pushes up its flower-stems till they reach the open air, that the ferina fecundans may perform, without injury, its proper office. About seven in the morning the PLANTS. 33 stalk erects itself, and the flowers rise above the surface of the water : in this state they continue till four in the afternoon, when the stalk becomes re- laxed, and the flowers sink and close. The mo- tions of the sensitive plant have been long noticed with admiration, as exhibiting the most obvious signs of perceptivity. And if we admit such mo- tions as criteria of a like power in other beings — to attribute them in this instance to mere mechanism, actuated solely by external impulse, is to deviate from the soundest rules of philosophizing, which directs us not to multiply causes when the effects appear to be the same. Neither will the laws of electricity better solve the phenomena of this ani- mated vegetable : for its leaves are equally affected by the contact of electric and non-electric bodies ; show no change in their sensibility whether the at- mosphere be dry or moist ; and instantly close when the vapour of volatile alkali or the fumes of burning sulphur are applied to them. The powers of chemical stimuli to produce contractions in the fibres of this plant may perhaps lead some philoso- phers to refer them to the vis insita , or irritability, which they assign to certain parts of organized matter, totally distinct from, and independent of, any sentient energy. But the hypothesis is evi- dently a solecism, and refutes itself : for the pre- sence of irritability can only be proved by the ex- perience of irritations; and the idea of irritation in- volves in it that of feeling.” VOL. III. D 34 PLANTS. Lastly, we may observe that the plants which ate oi the most benefit to mankind are dispersed in the greatest abundance ; and that even in some of the desert parts of the world, there are vege- tables which, by distilling water from their bo- dies, afford to thirsty animals the greatest possible luxury. How solicitous has Nature been about the pre- servation of grasses, which, though not directly, are certainly indirectly of the utmost consequence to our welfare. I hey contribute, almost entirely, to sustain our most useful animals ; their seeds afford nourishment to birds ; and their leaves cover the earth, like a carpet, with a colour of all others the most refreshing to our sight. They are calculated to grow in almost any situation, and to bear the hardest treatment without being destroyed. The more they are trodden upon, the thicker they grow, and their roots increase in proportion as their leaves are consumed. Neither the scorching summer’s sun, nor the severest attacks of winter, destroy these plants : for, on the return of spring, they begin to sprout afresh, and seem, as it were, with an officious haste, to deck the earth with a green livery, that, thus adorned in all her glory, she may invite us to go forth into the fields and enjoy the scene. But the care of Providence to preserve these very es- sential vegetables, is particularly evident in an ob- servation which has frequently been made: viz. that herbivorous animals attach themselves to the leaves PLANTS. 35 of grasses ; and, if at liberty to range and choose, leave untouched the straws which support the flowers. In the deserts of America, we meet with a plant growing, like the misleto, on the tops of the trees, and having its leaves turned at the base into the shape of a pitcher, with the extremity expanded : in these the rain is collected and preserved, for the benefit of birds and other animals. Again, the water-tree in Ceylon produces cylindrical bladders, covered with a lid ; into these is secreted a most pure and refreshing water. There is likewise a kind of cuckoo-pint in New France, which, when broken, will afford a pint of excellent water. Thus has Nature been careful to accommodate the produc- tions of every country to its inhabitants, and to pro- duce subjects of admiration which cannot fail to raise our ideas towards the Creator of all things. We shall conclude this Introduction with a de- scription of those parts of a plant which are the very essence of its being — the flower and the fruit. Upon these Linnaeus has founded his generic cha- racters ; and they generally consist of the caly: r, the corolla , the stamina , the pistillum , the pericarpium , the semina , and the receptaculum. The first four of these parts belong to the flower ; the last three to the fruit. The calyx , or cup, is the termination of the outer bark of the plant, and is formed, in general, of differ- ent segments. It supports and protects the other d 2 36* PLANTS. parts of fructification, and forms a receptacle for the Corolla , or blossom, which is that beautiful co- loured part of the flower, so generally attractive. This is composed of one or more leaves called pe- tals. These form a kind of palisade, with which Nature has encompassed the heart of the flower to cover it when necessary. The corolla, in most plants, opens at the rising of the sun, to receive the genial warmth ; and closes more or less at the ap- proach of rain or night, to keep oft* the moisture and cold. For the most part it forms a little vault, which encloses the seeds, and seems, with a kind of consciousness, to preserve the tender charge con- signed to its care. At the bottom of the corolla there is, in many plants, a little appendage, which Linnaeus calls the nectarium. This contains the sweet liquor which the industrious bees so well know how to procure : it is for this they search the bottom of each flower, and for this they chiefly visit every cup. There are few who, in their younger days, have not sucked this honeyed liquor from the flower of the woodbine. The stamina , or chives, are those little fibrous pillars which are, in most plants, placed upon the receptacle within the corolla, and round the seed- vessel. They consist of two parts, the filament and the anther ; the former serves as a foot-stalk to support the latter, which is a hollow shell, filled with a very fine powder. This powder, or dust, PLANTS. 37 when the antherae are ripe, is shed on the upper part of the pistil, from whence it is conveyed to the bud, as we have already seen in the Jacobean lily. Where the pistillum is seated in one plant, and the stamina in another (of the same species), the an- theree have frequently an elastic membrane, which bursts at the appointed time, and disperses the dust to a considerable distance. This dust on a fine day may be seen, like a cloud, hanging about the com- mon nettle. The pistillum is that part of the flower in which the seed is inclosed. It is that erect column which is placed in the centre of the corolla, amidst the stamina ; and is designed to receive the nutriment shed upon its top or style, by the an- therae, for the welfare of the bud. Without this necessary process, the plant would not produce fer- tile seeds. This organ may be divided into three parts: the germen, or bud, which in fact is the base of the pistillum ; the style, which forms the shaft of the pillar; and the stigma, which, like a capital, sur- mounts the whole. The pericarpium is the case which incloses the germen after it is grown to maturity. This case, or seed-vessel, in many plants, bursts with an elastic force, and scatters its contents to a considerable distance. Sometimes it opens at the top, some- times at the bottom, and indeed in almost every possible direction. This seed-vessel, or, as it is very commonly called, the capsule , is composed of coats, which are strong when compared with the rest of 38 PLANTS. the flower, as may be readily seen in the pea, whose capsule is a pod formed of two tough valves that open longitudinally. The pericarpium sometimes increases to an amazing comparative size, as in the gourd and the melon : it always greatly ex- ceeds the size of the seeds, and assumes almost an infinite variety of forms. Thus in nuts and stone- fruits, the seed is incased in a strong shell, which is itself inclosed in a pulp or husk. In grapes and many kinds of berries, it is plunged in a glutinous syrup, contained within a thin skin ; in apples and pears, imbedded in the centre of a firm fleshy sub- stance ; and in raspberries and strawberries, scat- tered on the surface of a soft pulp. These are only a few instances among an amazing variety which exists in the different trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses, and which all tend to one great end — the preservation of the future plant. OLIVE. DIANDRIA MONOGYNIA, GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx erect, tubular : mouth with four teeth. Corolla funnel-shaped, divided into four parts, the segments nearly oval. Drupe oval, smooth, containing a single seed. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Olea Eurofjea. O. foliis lanceolatis integerrimis, racemis axil- laribus coarctatis. Linn. Spec. Plant. IVilld. 1. p. 44. Leaves lanceolate and entire j bunches axillary and compact. a. Olea communis. Ait. Hort. Kew. 1. p. 13. /3. Olea verrucosa. IVilld. y Olea longifolia. Ailon. § Olea latifolia. Aiton. e Olea ferruginea Aiton. £. Olea ob- ligua Alton. Olea buxifolia. Aiton. Common Olive. Black. Herb. pi. 213. We have enumerated several varieties of this useful plant, all of which yield the same kind of fruit, and are cultivated for the same purpose. The olive- 40 OLIVE. tree may undoubtedly be placed in the first rank amongst those which are considered of the most use to mankind, and cannot be too highly valued for the delicate oil which is extracted from its fruit. The olive, considered merely as a botanical ob- ject, does not afford any thing striking in its ap- pearance. It is an evergreen, with oval, entire leaves, placed opposite to each other, the superior surface of which is a pale shining green, while the inferior side is whitish. The flowers are disposed in bunches, which spring from the axils of the leaves : the corolla is monopetalous, and divided at its edge into four parts : the colour of the flower is white, and it exhales an agreeable smell. The leaves indeed are always green, but the whole plant is of such a dull colour, that it would hardlv be worth our attention, if it did not contribute, by its products, to enrich the inhabitants of the southern countries of Europe, and to benefit a large por- tion of mankind. Considered in this light, it truly deserves the title which it has obtained from Colu- mella, and other antient writers, who style it the first of trees. It is generally believed that the olive derives its origin from the south of Europe ; but it is also found on the northern coasts of Africa, in Asia Minor, and in the neighbouring countries. At present it is to be found in almost all the tem- perate climates. It was from the Phocians that the Gauls were indebted for the knowledge of this plant. These people left Ionia when Cyrus at- OLIVE. 41 tempted to reduce them to his power ; and, after wandering about for some time, came into Gaul, founded Marseilles, and applied themselves to the cultivation of the olive-tree. Pliny attributes to Aristaeus the invention of millstones for bruising the olives, and of presses for extracting the oil. There are several different kinds of olive culti- vated for the sake of their fruit in the southern parts of Italy, and grounds are there set apart for the purpose. All parts of the tree are very pro- ductive ; abounding in suckers, and young shoots are continually pushing up from the roots. The best situation for an olive-ground is on the declivity of a hill, at a moderate height from the level of the sea, and with a southern aspect. The plants suc- ceed particularly well in sandy, stony, or volcanic lands ; and, on the contrary, produce but indifferent fruit when situated in clayey, moist, and swampy bottoms. It appears somewhat singular, that a tree which requires twenty or thirty years to arrive at its full growth, should be extremely sensible to the impression of cold. This, however, is the case with the olive, since all high situations are hurtful to the plant, and frost is often destructive to it; especially if it has been preceded by moisture. On this account the careful planter covers the shoots of the first year with straw, as soon as the winter commences ; and thus shelters them from the cold north winds as long as he has any thing to fear from the severity of the weather. Although it is highly necessary to defend the 42 OLIVE. olive plants from the cold, it is as much so to sup- ply them with a constant and regular heat during the greater part of the year. If fine fruit is ex- pected from the tree, this circumstance must be considered ; and therefore, as we have before ob- served, a southern aspect, properly sheltered from the cold winds, will be highly necessary. As a proof that warmth is the chief source from whence these trees derive their vigour ; the olives planted about Lima, and in South Carolina, produce fruit three times as large as the same species cultivated in France. The stem of the olive scarcely rises to the height of twenty feet, provided the inferior branches are suffered to expand; and, in general, they are careful to keep the tree as near the surface of the earth as possible, that the heat from the sun may be more condensed, the fruit brought sooner to maturity, and the crop collected with more ease. It ap- pears, from the accounts we have from those who have attended to the cultivation of the olive, that it is necessary to scrape the rough bark from the trunk, since it harbours insects during the winter, retains the wet, and renders the tree more susceptible of cold. It is said te be by no means rare, to find the trunk of the olive-tree rotten from top to bottom, and pierced through in every di- rection. Olive-trees are propagated in several ways; either by seeds, by cuttings, or by the shoots : but all the varieties, of which the French reckon twenty-one, OLIVE. 43 will degenerate, if neglected, so as to approach the wild species in every respect. Under the most un- favourable circumstances the olive will produce its fruit. M. Amoreux saw one that had been totally neglected, grown into a perfect bush, choked with suckers, and damaged by cattle ; nevertheless, in this state it bore fruit, though they were smaller and less numerous than when the tree was carefully looked after. The propagation by seeds is almost rejected as too tedious a process. The common method is said to be by shoots, which, when care has been taken to engraft them properly, bear fruit in the space of eight or ten years. These shoots are engrafted when in flower ; unless the operation has been de- layed and the tree bears fruit ; when it is thought sufficient to take off a ring of bark, two fingers breadth in extent, above the highest graft. The trees are planted in rows at a considerable distance from each other, and in a quincunx order: the best season to plant them in is the spring, at least in France, where they are more subject to severe win- ters than in Italv. When olives are intended for preservation, they are gathered before they are ripe, and put into a tub of pickle, consisting of salt and water, flavoured with fennel, coriander, and rose-wood. Formerly they used a mixture of a pound of quicklime, with six pounds of newly sifted wood ashes ; but of late, instead of these materials, they use nothing but a lye. This, it is alleged, softens the olives, makes 44 OLIVE. them more agreeable to the taste, and less hurtful to the constitution. In some parts of Provence, after the olives have lain some time in the brine, they remove them, take out the kernel, and put a caper in its place. These olives they preserve in excel- lent oil ; and when thus prepared they strongly stimulate the appetite. Olives perfectly ripe are soft, and of a dark-red colour. They are then eaten without any preparation, except only a seasoning of pepper, salt, and oil ; for they are extremely tart, bitter, and corrosive. Opposed to this kind, may be mentioned a spe- cies growing in the town of Piedmont Alife, ten leagues from Naples towards the north-east, which is perfectly sweet, and eaten without any prepara- tion. M. Battiloso, who noticed this kind, tells us that the bishop of the place, and several gentlemen who reside there, cultivate it in their gardens under the name of the sweet olive. They assured him that the plant seldom failed to produce fruit once a year ; that they never attempted to extract the oil from them, as they constantly gathered them in the month of October to supply their tables ; and that the birds devoured them with extreme avidity. The quality of the oil extracted from the olive, depends on the nature of the soil where the trees grow; on the kind of olive from which it is ex- pressed; on the care which is taken in the gathering and pressing of the fruit ; and likewise on the sepa- ration of the part to be extracted. The olives should be gathered for the purpose, when they are OLIVE. 45 just at the proper degree of ripeness; for the ex- treme either way will be prejudicial to the oil. The leaves must likewise be carefully separated, or else they will communicate a disagreeable bitterness to the oil. When the situation is favourable, those species are cultivated which yield fine oils ; other- wise they cultivate such trees as bear a great quantity of fruit, from whence they extract the oil for the use of soaperies and lamps. When the olives are gathered, which is about the months of November and December, if they are put in heaps too thick, or left in that state too long, they will ferment and contract a bad smell ; they are therefore put as soon as possible into baskets, or into bags made of wool or hair, and pressed immediately, in order to extract the fine oil. The want of this activity in preparing the oil, is the reason why so little really fine, and free from any bad flavour, is to be procured. M. Duhamel is averse to the mixing of sound olives with those in which a fermentation has already begun, and more so with such as are putrified: in both cases the oil which is extracted is of a bad quality, and unfit for preserva- tion. In order to have the oil in its greatest purity, we must allow it to deposit its sediment, and then pour it off into another vessel. The oil extracted from the pulp only of olives, is the most perfect which can be obtained, and will keep for several years ; but that which is extracted from the kernel only, or from the nut, or from the whole olive ground in the common way in public mills, has always more 46 OLIVE. or fewer defects, loses its limpidity in a certain time, and is very apt to become rancid. With all the care that can be taken, olive-oil will lose its good qualities, and become disagreeable to tbe taste, after being kept a length of time. When the olive is over ripe it yields a large quantity of oil, which, however, is of an inferior quality ; and it is from this attempt of the planter, to make the most of his pro- duce, by leaving the fruit till it drops from the trees before it is pressed, that so much indifferent oil is received from the oil countries. The taste for olives must be always acquired ; since they are acrid, bitter, and extremely disagree- able, till we become used to their flavour. The Lucca olives, which are smaller than the others, have the weakest taste ; the Spanish, or larger, the strongest; those from Provence, which are of a middling size, are generally the most esteemed. Tub l is tied by Jldjc/s™ OidcIL X' /) aides, London J larch j ji I l li , ■ PAPYRUS TRIP Ri A MONOCIYK ih . . iC ■ r: • * • " w » . ■ '* u * i.* j.l« . r >hapt . •Sfxnl u , ; : , tb.w-c/.f: r»- ' r £(. > T . =•{.*: ! ... ; ,5 : r H ' ■ * - 1 ' "p'~ PR . ^tnn. Spdi. n >tf, H U A 1, p. 263, 73. • . ;-;r ‘k it kpd.and trlanguls? / ne! lorig;:-; : "• !D'’0llK " . $ ' \ .A . »•/* : • and : r : j sp r J 1 * " . ' pro.l untlbt ■ ... .ribui *V/j/ -. I • C «j 3 :7. t. 8 y ) '• »;• M-pus vel f-vrr-<\-.ip?.nyr: V CVNEIUU Ui HxACTEn. ■ • : i.r.iii K ' i * - * * t tt * .2 '• - ' M / ■- v : •• < , . ■: i, i -r* . . t ! ; - : i> ; ' ■ . Ur : ' ■■ . AkI!NOo1?AMBO'. A. ' C'':k • in* * ”t? >ri spicis terms sespti*’- < < f*fc * 120. Alt'. *•'" .. .os Bauh. Pin. 18 . Ily. :V. » . ' i. »>. *, •. , i(5. Tx.s'.Xiiv • v ivl i : - so Aiu-v ■ v . }iisi. : Aj/ X i -‘.li — I 2.* . • V * : v.>: -.ire acquainted ■ ■ ■■■ ) • ?;.x-oie$ *- t»: ; ui ;orUh'Unri^t } die ft.» icUic ta . L i are both nativ s of an. And from ^ ieui iai.ce to rrede k v* . :< j k-? ' ; .4 ■■ •-■ -- ‘ - . V V. * V> l**V ‘ ” < -* • * r- ‘v» .• * • '&4,«pfc* - - • IL BAMBOO. HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx none. Corolla a bivalve glume. Seed single. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Bambusa arundinacea. B. panicula ramosa divaricata. Linn. Spec. Plant. Willd. 2. p. 245. Panicle branched and divaricating. Arundo Bambos. A. calycibus mul- tifloris, spicis terms sessilibus. Spec. Plent. 120. Arundo arbor. Bauh. Pin. 18. Ily. Rheed. Mai. 1. p. 25. pi. Id. Tabaxir sive Mumbo arbor. Bauh. Hist. 1. p. 222. Bamboo Lamarck. Illust. pi. 264. Diet. d' Hist. Nat. ed. 1 803 .— 2. p. 530. pi. A. f. 2. As yet we are acquainted only with two species of bamboo, the arundinacea , and the verticillata. They are both natives of India, and from their great resemblance to reeds have been classed with 112 BAMBOO. them. Owing to this botanical mistake, it has been common, both in India and America, to give the name of bamboo to all those plants which resemble reeds. It is thus that travellers have been led to suppose that the genus consists of many species. Rumphius, who paid particular attention to these plants, has divided them into three classes. In the first he comprehends those with a plain and solid stem ; that is to say, woody throughout. The se- cond includes those which have the figure of a cross in the centre of their stems, and a very small ca- vity. His third class is formed of bamboos whose interior is so open as to form a pipe, and more in proportion than the ligneous part. These last are by far the most useful. Adanson, following Rum- phius, has given in the old Encyclopedic the de- scription of twenty-nine varieties of this plant, and mentioned their several uses. Of this number we shall only mention those which are of use to the Indians, either for the composition of their paper, the fabrication of their houses and domestic uten- sils, or as affording them a portion of their nourish- ment. Of all the plants that belong to the family of grasses, the bamboo is the only one that rises to the height of a tree, with a stem of a proportionate thickness. This height varies like that of other plants, according to the soil and the situation in which it is placed. The Bamhoo Ily , which is found in the sands of Malabar, grows to the height of sixty-six feet: it is propagated by suckers; at- BAMBOO. 113 tains the age of sixty years, and blows but once in its life. The Bamboo Zelin , a kind inhabiting Java and Amboyna, arrives at the height of fifty feet. The Malays and the Macassars use the joints for water- pipes : they likewise use the wood in constructing different parts of their houses, such as the partitions, the benches, and the seats. To prepare the bam- boo for this purpose, they split the middling-sized stems into either four or six laths, which they after- wards sew together. The stems, when whole, serve for the sides of ladders, for the yards of small ves- sels ; and, as we have before said, for water-pipes : those of the largest growth are employed for joists and beams. The use of so much bamboo, however, in the construction of their houses, becomes a se- rious evil in case of fire ; for the air contained within the hollow parts of the stems becomes rare- fied, and bursts from its confinement with a violent and dangerous explosion. The natives eat the buds and suckers of this and several other varieties of bamboo ; they cut about a foot of the young shoot from near the top, and, after having macerated it in water, they boil it gently, and then dividing it into slices, preserve it in vinegar. This, whqn served up with meat, and eaten as cabbage, is rec- koned a good antiscorbutic. The bamboo which is common over all India, and which is of so much service to the inhabitants, is the largest of all the varieties of this plant. It grows to the height of eighty feet, and measures VOL. hi. i 114 BAMBOO. from twelve to eighteen inches in diameter. With this they make their chests, their small boxes, and the measures for their rice. They propagate the plant by suckers of two or three joints, which they place obliquely in the ground. The vessels in the upper joints of these shoots are full of a clear water. The wood of this species, as well as that of its va- rieties, although extremely light, is very strong : with the thickest they make their enclosure-walls and partitions, while those of a middling size serve as levers to carry palanquins and other burthens. The Indian wine-dressers, who are employed to col- lect the palm-wine, make bridges of bamboo from one tree to another, so that they may pass and col- lect the juice without descending to the ground. The Chinese boil the young shoots to the con- sistence of thick milk, and of this preparation they make a kind of paper, used by their draftsmen, and sometimes to cover their parasols. The same people make several very pretty articles of furniture with what they call th e. Bamboo Cho\ they likewise use it for basket-making ; and for this purpose they split the stems into little straps. The Bamboo Teba is another kind, remarkable for the thickness of its stem, which is eighteen inches in diameter, and set with strong spines. The superior arti- culations, which are open, serve the inhabitants as measures for their liquors ; whilst the lower joints, being plain, solid, and very durable, are used for stakes ; of which the Macassars form a defensive wall, that answers the purpose of ram- BAMBOO. 115 parts. When their king was at war with the Dutch in l6’51, they fortified themselves by plant- ing two parallel rows of these stakes at about three feet distance from each other, uniting them by hurdles of the same bamboo, and binding the whole strongly together. The interval between the two rows was filled up with the spiny branches mixed with earth and sand : thus they formed a wall which was completely cannon-proof. The wood of the Bamboo Tuy (a variety com- mon enough in the Moluccas) is so very hard, that a severe blow with an axe will make it give sparks of fire. The joints are covered with rough sheaths, like the skin of a shark or dog-fish ; and they are used to polish iron, or for other purposes of a similar nature. The natives of the Moluccas and of Java manufacture the stems of this bamboo into flutes, walking-sticks, fishing-rods, tobacco- pipes, poisoned arrows, and excellent pikes, or hassagays , which they throw with such force as to pierce through the body of a man, after the pointed end has been gently heated in the fire to give it the requisite hardness. Among the different kinds of this useful plant may be ranked the Arundo scriptoria of G. Bauhin, which, amongst its other uses, furnishes the inhabitants with writing-pens. The joints of the stem are about six inches long, of a fine shining black, and almost entirely ligne- ous. With this they inlay their cabinets, their escritoires, and other furniture of a similar nature. Among the many uses to which the Chinese put 116 BAMBOO. the bamboo, may be ranked the manufactory of paper. To accomplish this purpose we are in- formed, by Duhalde, that they use the open kind of bamboo, of which they reject the first bark, and only employ the second with the woody substance. They choose the shoots of the first year, and divide them into several straight bundles of six or seven feet in length. These bundles are sunk in a pond of muddy water, where they remain till their com- pact and tenacious parts are separated. In about fifteen days they are taken out of the pond, and after being washed in pure water they are spread in a large trench, and covered with lime. When the bamboos have been long enough in this state they are again washed, and, being separated into fila- ments, are exposed to the heat of the sun in order to be bleached : as soon as this is effected, the mass is put into large coppers, where it is boiled, and the operation completed by beating it with a heavy pestle till it is reduced into a fluid paste. With this pulpy mass they mix gum water, prepared with the juice of a plant called hoci-teng or ko-teng. This melange, which resembles thick and cloudy water, they pour into large and deep re- servoirs formed of four walls, breast high, the bot- tom and sides of which are defended by a cement, to prevent the liquor from oozing through. The workmen, who are placed on the sides of the re- servoir, then dip in their moulds and raise the sur- face of the liquor, which almost immediately be- comes paper. The frame upon which they raise BAMBOO. 117 the paper is not made of wire, as in Europe, but of bamboo ; and when they want to make their leaves of an extraordinary size, they use a reservoir and frame in proportion. Besides the gum-water with which the paper is impregnated, they sometimes dip every leaf in a so- lution of alum. This operation prevents the paper from sinking, and gives it likewise the polish which is sometimes so conspicuous on the Chinese paper. They have places on purpose for drying the leaves, where they are subject to a degree of heat that eva- porates their moisture almost as soon as they are ex- posed to it. In this manner they conduct the operation of paper-making; and with this account we shall now conclude the history of the bamboo, which, for the various uses to which it is applied, has hardly its equal in the whole range of the vegetable kingdom. LAUREL. ENNEANDRIA MONOGYNIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx none. Corolla of six oval, pointed, concave petals. Seed-vessel an oval sharp-pointed berry, containing an oval nut. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Laurus nobilis. L. foliis lanceolatis venosis perennantibus, flo- ribus quadrifidis dioeciis, Linn. Spec. Plant. Willd. 2. 479- Leaves lanceolate, veined, and perennial. Flowers quadrifid, dioecious. L. foliis ovato-lanceolatis, ramis floriferis folio brevioribus. Hall. Helv. no. 1602. Laurus vulgaris. Bauh. Pin. 46 0. Common Laurel. Blackw. Herl. pi. 157- femina. Mill. Diet. Tourn. Ins. 597- None of the species of this interesting genus has been so much celebrated, or so highly honoured, as the common laurel. Amongst the antients it was placed in the most distinguished situations ; it graced the brows of their conquerors, and adorned their splen- did triumphs : it was at all times the reward of mi- litary virtues and great talents. Besides a crown of I.AURtL. U9 laurel which was decreed to the successful general at the conclusion of a campaign, he bore in his hand a branch of the plant as a symbol of his victories, and entered Rome surrounded by trophies of a si- milar nature. The tents, the vessels, the fasces, and even the lances of the soldiery, were ornamented with the same. This laurel was also consecrated to Apollo, in consequence of his attachment to the plant after the transformation of Daphne. The an- tient physicians supposed it possessed of extraordi- nary virtues, and considered it as an universal pana- cea. It w as probably for this reason that they adorned the statue of Esculapius with its leaves. From the custom which prevailed in some places of crowning the young doctors in physic with the laurel in berry, (baccce lauri,) these students w^ere called Bachelors. This shrub is too common to require a particular description of its form. It is sufficient to say that its bark is thin and green ; its wood strong and pli- able; its flowers whitish-yellow, growing in little umbels, and supported on footstalks shooting from the axils of the leaves. These flowers are dioecious, that is to say, the males grow on one plant, while the females occupy another. The fruit is an oval berry of a blueish black colour when ripe. Entire forests of this species of laurel are found in Africa. In the temperate and even the cold parts of Europe it is cultivated as an ornament to our gar- dens, where it flowers in March and April, and ri- pens its berries in autumn. All parts of this tree 120 JLAUREL. are aromatic. The leaves bruised between the fin- gers exhale an agreeable smell, and give to the taste an acrid bitter flavour. They likewise serve to season our aliments, and are well known to the lovers of a bowl of punch, who considerably improve their liquor by the addition of a few laurel leaves. When they are distilled, (after being macerated a few hours in water,) they give out an essential and powerful oil. The berries, which are employed in medicine, have a strong but agreeable smell, and a sharp, bitter, and aromatic taste. Several of the species which compose this genus are of considerable service to mankind, particularly the cinnamon and camphor ; ol which we shall pro- ceed to give such an account as the limits of our work will permit. I he cinnamon-tree ( Laurus Cin - namomum Linn.) is a native of India, and grows in great abundance in the Island of Ceylon. Of this tree Mr Charles Thunberg has given a history in his Travels, to which Mr. Percival has made con- siderable additions in his Account of the Island of Ceylon. From this interesting work, therefore, we shall chiefly collect our particulars respecting the cinnamon. Mr. Percival informs us, that the principal cinna- mon woods, or gardens, as they are called in Cey- lon, lie in the neighbourhood of Columbo. They reach to within half a mile of the fort, and fill the whole surrounding prospect. I he grand garden near the town is said to occupy a tract of country from ten to fifteen miles in length. “ Nothing,” says LAUREL. 121 Mr. Percival, (( can be more delightful to the eye than the prospect which stretches around Columbo. The low cinnamon trees which cover the plain, allow the view to reach the groves of evergreens, inter- spersed with tall clumps, and bounded every where with extensive ranges of cocoa-nut and other large trees. The whole is diversified with small lakes and green marshes, skirted all around with rice and pas- ture fields. In one part the intertwining cinnamon trees appear completely to clothe the face of the plain ; in another, the openings made by the inter- secting foot-paths just serve to show that the thick underwood has been penetrated. “ The soil best adapted for the growth of the cin- namon is a loose white sand. Such is the soil of the cinnamon gardens around Columbo, as well as in many parts around Nigumbo and Caltura, where this spice is found of the same superior quality. What is gathered at Matura and Point de Galle dif- fers very little from this, especially in those parts near the sea, which are most favourable to the growth of cinnamon. The quantity found in the other parts of the island is so trifling, as hardly to deserve notice. Of late years, little is procured from the interior ; and what is brought thence is coarser and thicker in appearance, and of a hot and pungent taste. The interior is not so well adapted by nature for producing this plant ; and the exactions and avarice of the Dutch at length reduced the king of Candy to such desperation, that he resolved to se- cure himself against their future attacks, by leaving 122 LAUREL. nothing: in his dominions that could excite their co- vetousness. With this view he has, since the last treaty he was forced to make with them, employed every means to prevent the growth and propagation of the cinnamon tree.” The Island of Ceylon affords several kinds of cin- namon trees, which are known by different names : some of these from their appearance may readily be mistaken for the true cinnamon, and four of them indeed are allowed by government to be barked for commercial purposes. We shall not, however, take any further notice of these varieties, but confine ourselves to the description of the species which really constitutes the wealth of Ceylon. This is a tree of a small size, from four to ten feet in height : the trunk is slender, and has several branches and twigs shooting out from it on every side. The wood is soft, light, and porous, in appearance much re- sembling that of our osier ; and, when barked, it makes good fire-wood, for which purpose it is com- monly used. A vast number of roots and fibres run from the root of the tree, and, shooting up into slen- der twigs, form a bush around it. The leaf resem- bles the laurel, and is at first scarlet, but afterwards •changes to a green. It is deserving of remark, that the leaves taste and smell strongly of cloves, and that an essential oil has been distilled from them, with all the properties of that spice, while that obtained from the wood is decidedly of the flavour of cin- namon. We learn from Mr. Percival that the blossom of LAUREL. 123 the cinnamon tree is white, and when in full bloom seems to cover the woods. “ It is probable,” says this gentleman, “ from the great distance to which an object of this colour is seen, that voyagers have been led to affirm that the cinnamon may be smelt far at sea off the island. This assertion is in fact a mere fiction, as even in passing through the woods I never could perceive any scent from the tree, except by pulling off some of the leaves or branches. The flower has even less scent than the leaves or a bit of twig. u The cinnamon tree produces a species of fruit resembling an acorn, but not so large, which gets ripe about the latter end of autumn, and is gathered by the natives for the purpose of extracting oil from it. The process they employ is to bruise the fruit, boil it, and skim off the oil : this they use for their hair and body on great occasions, and also for burn- ing in their lamps. When mixed with cocoa-nut oil it gives an extremely good light. The kings of Candy use it for this purpose, and formerly com- manded their subjects to bring them a certain quan- tity as a yearly tribute. When any ambassadors are sent to these princes, they always burn this oil during the time of audience. When the tree gets old and decayed, and most of the branches fit for barking have been stripped off', it is customary to set fire to it, and burn it down to the ground; the roots are seen to shoot up again in strong straight plants, much better formed than the preceding ones. From these are cut the highly esteemed cinnamon walk- 124 LAUREL. ing-sticks, which, when fresh, are of a lively green, resembling holly ; hut after some time the bark be- comes shrivelled, and they have very much the ap- pearance of hazel sticks. They still, however, retain the taste and smell of cinnamon. The bark of these shoots is extremely valuable, and the practice of cutting them when young for sticks has been found to prove so materially injurious, that it has been totally prohibited since the island came into our possession. Before the Dutch were in possession of Ceylon, the cinnamon grew entirely in a wild state, and it was then supposed that cultivation would prove in- jurious to the plant, by causing it to degenerate : this, however, was not found to be the case, and the cultivated cinnamon is now acknowledged to be in every respect equal to the wild. The plantations not only yield a spice of equal quality with the wild, but are infinitely more commodious for the people employed in barking, from the trees being regularly placed in rows, instead of being scattered through intricate and pathless woods. The manner of barking and preparing the cin- namon for exportation is thus described by Mr. Percival : “ There are two different seasons in which cinnamon is barked. The greater quantity is pre- pared during what is called the grand harvest , which lasts from April to August. 1 he little har- vest continues for little more than a month, from November to January. The barking is, however, by no means restricted to these particular seasons ; LAUREL. 125 I have observed bark brought in every month of the year. C£ Each particular district where the cinnamon grows is bound to furnish yearly a certain quantity of cinnamon, proportioned to the number of villages and inhabitants which it contains. The Cinglese, in return for this service, have each a piece of land allotted them rent free. They are also exempted from other government services, and enjoy other privileges in proportion to the quantity which they deliver. Those who are employed to bark the trees are called schj alias by the Dutch, and by us choliohs . Over them are placed officers of a supe- rior class, whose business it is to superintend the workmen, to take charge of the woods, and to pre- vent cattle and improper persons from trespassing there. Besides these, there is a set of officers of a higher cast, called cinnamon moodeliers, whose busi- ness it is to judge and punish all small offences, and to superintend the different districts and vil- lages where the choliahs reside. Over the whole a head officer is placed, usually known by the Por- tuguese name of Captain Cannaille , which means Captain Cinnamon . He is styled by the natives Corundu Mohahadda , or Chief of Cinnamon. The chief moodelier receives all the reports concerning the woods, and the cinnamon affairs in general, from the inferior officers, and transmits them to the captain, who is accountable only to the go- vernor. The process of preparing the cinnamon for 126 LAUREL. exportation is as follows : It is the first care of the choliahs to find out a tree of the best quality. This their sagacity and practice easily enable them to do, from the leaves and other marks. Such branches as are three years old, and appear proper for the purpose, are then lopped off* with a large crooked pruning-knife. From these branches the outside thin coat of the bark is scraped off' with a knife of a peculiar shape, concave on the one side and con- vex on the other. With the point of this knife the bark is ripped up longwise, and the convex side is then employed in gradually loosening it from the branch till it can be taken off entire. In this state the bark appears in the form of tubes open at one side ; the smaller of which are inserted into the larger, and thus spread out to dry. The heat of the sun, by quickly drying up the moisture, makes the tubes contract still closer, till they at last retain the form in which we see them in Europe. When sufficiently dry, the bark is made into bundles of about thirty pounds weight each, and bound up with pieces of split bamboo twigs. These bundles are carried by the choliahs to the cinnamon go- downs or storehouses belonging to the company. As they are brought in, each bundle is marked and weighed, and placed in the heap of the particular district or village to which those who brought it be- long; each heap being kept separate till the quan- tity expected from the district be made np. I he several processes required in cutting and barking the cinnamon are parcelled out among several LAUREL. 127 classes of choliahs, who are employed only to per- form their own particular branches ; by this sub- division of labour the service becomes much easier to them, and much more profitable to their em- ployers. “ The next step, after the cinnamon has been carried into the company’s storehouses, is to exa- mine its quality. This task is imposed upon the company’s surgeons, and a very disagreeable one it proves to be. It is performed by taking a few sticks out of each bundle, and chewing them suc- cessively, as the taste is the only sure method of as- certaining the quality. The cinnamon, by the re- petition of this operation, excoriates the tongue and the inside of the mouth, and causes such an in- tolerable pain as renders it impossible for them to continue the process above two or three days suc- cessively. The surgeons are however obliged in their turns to resume it, as they are responsible for the goodness of the cinnamon : it is customary for them to mitigate the pain by eating a piece of bread and butter between whiles. The best cin- namon is rather pliable, and ought not much to ex- ceed stout writing-paper in thickness. It is of a light yellowish colour ; it possesses a sweet taste, not so hot as to occasion pain, and not succeeded by any after-taste. The inferior kind is distinguished by being thicker, of a darker and brownish colour, hot and pungent when chewed, and succeeded by a dis- agreeable bitter after-taste. 128 LAUREL. “ After the quality of the cinnamon has been by this means ascertained, it is made up into large bundles, each about four feet long, and all of the same weight* The weight of each bundle is, at the time of packing up, eighty-five pounds, although it is marked and reckoned for only eighty pounds ; five pounds being allowed for the loss by drying during the voyage. The bundles are firmly bound and packed up in coarse cloths made of strong hemp from the cocoa-tree ; and are then carried on board the ships which touch at Ceylon for that purpose.” The refuse of the cinnamon is distilled for the sake of its water and essential oil, which last, from the little that is yielded by the wood, is extremely dear. Mr. Percival saw a pint bottle of it set up for sale among the effects of the late Dutch go- vernor ; but as it was put up at ten pounds sterling, no one chose to bid for it. An oil is obtained from the leaves of this tree, which, as we have already observed, smells exactly like oil of cloves. The oil extracted from the best cinnamon is of a bright gold colour, while that obtained from wood of an inferior quality is darker and brownish. The camphor tree, Laurus camphor a Linn., is of a moderate size, of an elegant shape, and of deli cate foliage. It has a straight trunk, divided to- wards the top into many little branches. The leaves are alternate ; of an oval-lanceolate shape, smooth on both sides, and marked with three longi- LAUREL. 129 tudinal nerves, which unite a little above the base. These leaves, when rubbed between the fingers, diffuse a very strong smell of camphor. The small whitish flowers are supported on short peduncles, forming clusters of fifteen or eighteen on each stalk. They are succeeded by a blackish fruit, about the -size of a pea, which has a fleshy pulp, that both smells and tastes of camphor; within this is a stone containing an insipid kernel. The camphor is an evergreen tree, growing in Japan and other parts of the East Indies. The wood is white, rather hard, and marked with red- dish waves. It is employed in India for several purposes, on account of its fragrant smell. From this tree we obtain that valuable drug which is so well known for its medicinal virtues; and which may be considered as one of the immediate prin- ciples of vegetation, since it is not confined to one species of plant, but exists in a greater or less de- gree in most vegetables. This singular substance is dispersed over all parts of the tree; and to obtain it, the country people, in some provinces, cut the wood into little bits, which they put over the fire in a vessel constructed for the purpose, having a large head to it filled with stubble. When the wood is sufficiently heated the camphor sublimes like white soot, and settles in the head, from whence it is easily removed by shaking the stub- ble. In this state it is friable, grained, and of a yellowish brown colour, like moist sugar, and full of impurities. VOL. III. k LAUREL. 130 l ii China they call the camphor tree tchang , and the camphor tchang-nao. To extract the camphor, they take the green branches of this tree and cut them into little bits, which they steep for three days in well-water. After the cuttings have been thus macerated, they are put into a kettle and boiled, during which process they incessantly stir the liquor with a willow stick. When the juice from the wood adheres in a quantity to the stick, in the form of a white jelly, it is time to strain it : having done this, and separated all the dirt and impurities, they pour the juice into a glazed earthen pan, where it is left all night, and the next day they find it coagulated and formed into a mass. In this state the camphor is of a bad colour, and requires to be purified before it is fit for sale. To accomplish this purpose they provide a spacious copper bason, at the bottom of which they put some hard powdered substance, such as the rubbish of an old wall ground very fine ; upon this they put a layer of camphor, covering it with some of the same substance, then another layer of camphor, and so on till the fourth layer of this gum resin has been covered with the powdered substance. The pro- cess being conducted thus far, they lay on the top of all a quantity of the leaves of the plant po-ho , or pennyroyal, and close the whole with a copper cap which is luted to the bason with yellow ochre. A fire is then lighted under the vessel, and care taken to manage it so that the heat shall be as regular as LAUREL. 131 possible ; this heat is continued a given time, after which the fire is suffered to go out and the vessel to cool: upon separating the copper head the camphor will be found adhering to its inner surface. To get this substance very pure, it may be necessary to re- peat the sublimation two or three times. CASHEW-NUT. ENNEANDRIA MONOGYNIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx of five oval sharp-pointed divisions. Corolla of five linear-lanceolate petals, about twice the length of the calyx. Seed a kidney-shaped nut, situated at the apex of a large fleshy body of a pyriform figure. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Anacardium occidentale. Anacardium. Linn. Spec. Plant. Willd. 2. p. 486. Pomifer a f sive potius Prunifera indica, nuce reniformi. Catesb. Carol. 3. p. g. pi. 9. Acajou. Pis. Bras. 38. Cassuvium. Rumph. Amb. 1. p. 177. pi. 69. Cuschon. Mer. Sirin. 16. pi. 16. Kapa-mava. Rheed. Mai. 3. p. 65. pi. 54. Cashew-Nut Jacq. Amer. 124. pi. 181. f. 35. Blackw. pi. 369. This is the only species of the genus as yet known to botanists, at least the only one acknowledged in the Linnaean arrangement; for Lamarck refers us to CASHEW-NUT. 133 two, of which one is distinguished by broad leaves, the other by long. The last Lamarck believes to be the same with the Semeccirpus anacardium Linn. It is known by the name of Malacca-bean, or marsh- nut, and, in consequence of yielding a considerable quantity of varnish, is much sought after by the Chinese, and by the inhabitants of the neighbouring countries. The cashew-nut grows naturally in the hotter parts of Asia and America, where it arrives at the height of more than twenty feet. The leaves are nearly twelve inches long, and the fruit is as large as a moderate-sized pear, and somewhat of the shape. This fruit is full of an acid juice, and is singular in having a kidney-form nut attached to its lower end, which appears as if it had been fixed to it rather by art than nature. This appendage has a very hard shell enclosing a kernel of a very pleasant taste, not unlike the pistachia. Between the kernel and the shell is contained a thick, blackish, inflammable li- quor, of so caustic a nature that the skin blisters almost immediately upon its being applied to any part of the body, particularly the lips. This caustic liquor is esteemed an admirable cosmetic by the West India young ladies, though rather rough in its operation. Nothing indeed but that great desire which prevails with the sex to preserve a beautiful face, could ever make them endure the torture of this oil with common fortitude: they literally flay themselves alive; and the manner in which they pro- ceed to commit this barbarity is described as follows: 134 CASHEW-NUT. When any of the young ladies fancy themselves too much tanned by the scorching rays of the sun, they gently scrape off the thin outside of the shell to get at the oil, with which they rub their faces all over. The effect of this application is immediate ; the parts which have been rubbed swell and grow black, and the skin being poisoned by the caustic oil, in the space of five or six days comes entirely off in large flakes, so that they cannot appear in public in » _ # less than a fortnight ; by which time the new skin looks as fair as that of a young child. The negroes in Brazil are said to cure themselves effectually of disorders in the stomach by eating the fruit of this tree, which, being of an acid nature, is supposed to promote digestion, and remove ob- structions. It appears, however, that this cure is not voluntary, since the Portuguese deny them any other sustenance, and suffer them to seek the ca- shew-nuts in the woods, allowing them their choice, either to eat the fruit or starve. The young shoots, called bibo, are eaten in India, and the milky juice of the tree forms a good black ink for marking linen, which will not wash out. VENUS FLY-TRAP. DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx of five leaves. Corolla of five oblong petals. Seed-vessel a single cell, containing many small seeds. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Dionaea muscipula. Dionaea. Ellis in Nov. Act. Upsal. I .p.g8, pi. 8. Hoult. Linn. PJl. Syst. 6. p. 497. pi. 50. B. Venus Fly-trap. . Shaw Nat. Miscel. Darwin Bot. Gard. 2. p. 19. pi. 3. This is one of the wonders of the vegetable creation. It is an american plant, growing in Carolina, and producing several elegant white flowers at the end of a simple stalk. But the curious part of the fly- trap, and that from whence it derives its name, is the leaves; these are all of them radical, i. e. grow- ing immediately from the bottom of the stem, and each is terminated by two lobes surrounded with prickles. In the particular organization of this part of the plant we find something very singular. 13 G VENUS FLY-TRAP. The lobes, when undisturbed, lie open like the leaves of a book, and from their surfaces, which are co- vered with a number of minute glands, is secreted a sweet liquor that attracts the unwary fly. The moment an insect alights upon the leaf it closes, or folds up, so as to prevent the escape of the fly, and either crush or pierce it to death. The irritability in the surface of the leaves, together with the at- tracting syrup with which they are provided, and the rows of prickles, which, like the teeth of a rat- trap, surround their edges, are evidently contrived by nature to effect a purpose which appears incon- sistent with the office of a vegetable. The ant-eater, which lays its long and glutinous tongue on the ground, and silently waits till it is covered with in- sects, is employed in search of food which is essen- tial to its existence : but the plant, with organs as manifestly contrived for the purpose, has no ap- parent end to answer in the capture, since the ani- mal juices of a fly can hardly be supposed to contri- bute any thing towards the nourishment of a vege- table. The leaves may at anytime be excited; for, if a light substance be drawn along the middle rib, they will almost immediately fold up, so as to cross and inter- lock the prickles that grow on the edge of each lobe. In this plant the singularity of structure is in the leaves. In a species of dogs-bane, the Apocynum an - drostemifolium , it is in the flowers. The end to be effected is the same in both, and they are equally the objects of curiosity. A little honey-bag or nec- VENUS FLY-TRAI*. 137 tarium, seated at the bottom of the flower-cup, and guarded by five converging anthers, invites the fly to enter and enjoy the sweets ; but when the little animal inserts his proboscis between the anthers to arrive at the honey, they close with violence and detain him prisoner. Dr. Darwin was shown a fly thus held fast by the end of its proboscis, which, he tells us, in vain struggled to disengage itself, till the converging anthers were separated with a pin. Tdie gentleman to w hom the doctor was indebted for the sight of this curiosity, had the plant growing in his garden, and on some days observed that almost every flower had entrapped a fly. He thus men- tions the plant in some observations which he after- wards sent to Dr. Darwin : “ My apocynum is not yet out of flower. I have often visited it, and have frequently found four or five flies, some alive, and some dead, in its flowers; they are generally caught by the trunk or proboscis, sometimes by the trunk and a leg: I don’t know that this plant sleeps, as the flowers remain open in the night ; yet the flies frequently make their es- cape. In a plant of Mr. Ordoyno’s, an ingenious gardener at Newark, who is possessed of a great col- lection of plants, 1 saw many flowers of an apocy- num with three dead flies in each : they are a thin- bodied fly, and rather less than the common house fly ; but I have seen two or three other sorts of flies thus arrested by the plant.” CAMRUNGA. DECANDRIA PENTAGYMA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx of five small leaves. Corolla of five lanceolate petals. Seed-vessel a pentangular fleshy fruit, divided into five chambers containing many seeds. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Averrhoa carambola. A. foliis ovatis inaequalibus acumina- tis, fructibus oblongis acutangulis. Linn. Spec. Plant. IVilld. 2. 751. Leaves oval, unequal and sharp-point- ed ; fruit oblong and acute-angular. A. foliis impari-pinnatis, foliolis ovato- acutis, terminale rnajore, fructuum angulis ovatis. Cavan. Diss. 7* p. 374. pi 220. Prunum stellatum. Rumph.Amb. 1. p. 115. pi. 35. Tamara Tonga sive Carambolus. Rheed. Mai. 3. p. 51. pi. 43, 44. Camrunga Bruce , Philos. Trans. 1785. p. 356. This plant, like the mimosa, possesses the singular faculty of moving when touched ; and is one of CAMRUNGA. 139 those instances of irritability in the vegetable king- dom, of which we daily witness the effect without being able to explain the cause. It is a native of India, and is known in Bengal by the name of cam rue or camrunga, We are principally indebted for the following account to a paper in the fifty- seventh volume of the Philosophical Transactions, where the writer tells us that the leaves are alter- nately pinnated, with an odd one at the end ; that in their most common position in the day-time they are horizontal ; and that in the mimosa the moving faculty extends to the branches; but from the hard- ness of the wood this is not the case with the cam- runga. The leaves, on being touched, move them- selves downwards, frequently in so great a degree that the two opposite almost touch one another by their under sides, and the young ones sometimes either come into contact, or even pass each other. The whole of the leaves of one pinna move by striking the branch with the nail of the finger or other hard substance ; or each leaf can be moved singly by making an impression that shall not ex- tend beyond that leaf. In this way the leaves on one side of the pinna may be made to move, one after another, whilst the opposite continue as they were ; or they may be made to move alternately, or in short in any direction we please, by touching, in a proper manner, the leaf we wish to put in motion. If the impression, although confined to a single leaf, be strong, all the little leaves on that side, and sometimes the neighbouring ones, will he affected 140 CAM RUNG A. by it. It is singular, that notwithstanding this ap- parent sensibility of the leaf, large incisions may be made in it with a pair of sharp scissars, without oc- casioning the smallest motion ; nay, it may even be cut almost entirely off, and the remaining part still continue unmoved, when, by touching the wounded leaf with the finger or point of the scissars, motion will take place as if no injury had been offered. This is accounted for by supposing the leaf-stalk to be the only seat of sense and action : and this in- deed seems to be the case ; for although the leaf may be cut in the way we have just mentioned, and even squeezed with considerable force ; yet, if the impression made does not affect the leaf-stalk, no motion will take place. Whether the impression be made by puncture, percussion, or compression, the motion does not in- stantly follow : generally several seconds intervene, and then it is not by a jerk, but regular and gradual. Afterwards, when the leaves return to their former situation, which is commonly in a quarter of an hour or less, it is in so slow a manner as to be almost imperceptible. On sticking a pin into the base of the leaf-stalk, where it issues from the branch, the leaflet next it, which is always on the outer side, moves first ; then the first leaflet on the opposite side, next the second on the outside, and so on. But this legulai progression seldom continues throughout ; loi the outer leaflets seem to be affected both more quickly, and with more energy, than the inner ones ; and CAMRUNGA. 141 sometimes a leaflet, especially on the inner side, does not move at all, whilst those above and below it are affected in their proper time. On making a compression with a pair of pincers on the common leaf-stalk, between any two pair of leaves, those above the compressed part, or nearer the extremity of the stalk, move sooner than those under it, or nearer the origin ; and frequently the motion will extend upwards to the end leaflet, whilst below per- haps it does not go further than the first pair. If the leaves happen to be blown by the wind against one another, or against the branches, they are fre- quently put in motion ; but when a branch is moved gently, either by the hand or the wind, without striking against any thing, no motion of the leaves takes place. When left to themselves in the day-time, shaded from the sun, wind, rain, or any disturbing cause, the appearance of the leaves is different from that of other pinnated plants. In the last a great uni- formity subsists in the respective position of the leaflets ; but here some will be seen on the hori- zontal plane, some raised about it, and others fallen under it ; and in the space of an hour or two, all these will have changed their respective positions, without having observed any order or regularity in their movement. After sun-set the leaves go to sleep, first moving down so as to touch one another by their under sides; they therefore perform rather more extensive motion at night of themselves than they can be 142 CAM RUN GA. made to do in the day-time by external impressions. With a convex lens the rays of the sun may be col- lected on a leaf, so as to burn a hole in it, without occasioning any motion : but upon trying the ex- periment on the leaf stalk, the motion is as quick as if from strong percussion, although the rays be not so much concentrated as to cause pain when ap- plied in the same degree on the back of the hand. The electric shock, even when very gentle, has a powerful effect on the leaves, causing them to move with great celerity. The flowers in this species of averrhoa are axillary, that is, growing from the angle formed by the union of the leaf-stalk with the stem. The fruit is an oval fleshy berry, with five angles, and divided within into five chambers, each containing one or more seeds. It is about the size of a hen’s egg, has a crude but not disagreeable flavour, and is said to promote the appetite. On account of these pro- perties it is given in the East (mixed with sugar) for the cure of bilious fevers and dysentery. ’ J'ub/ishrd by Me/sV* Cade/Z Xr T>■ C* ‘ * - •'* • •*«» - - • " ' . * ■ « CVK. rdOt Ipon U‘ * < ..<( . : S , . I.. »?a)' tec. mm s r.prsiv.O(;.-Uj . a - r ■ u ■ " ■ ; • ' U\ . ’u nd id!. tSQ •••»,. • . • ,j ■» • ui> :t. .. * . -,l. o? . Wee:. \. yt: J i * : h tf • ; < a <;.• . .. I r lit' \ .. »• ■ : f. : • '■ 'viji; iN t sJV: ip.H-A •. »• > **• •. • v‘ he: • * <*i»h rc-ad j I >‘i * j ,-t iiiaii^rove * f *1^0? VftSl. ivi- . : ? • n !. ! »;X~ . V,, , .. • -- * **• - 4;: ' ' !i ' ,*i 4*: . • : ‘ ' , :: :‘ • ' •*• * - I : • . .V h . , ■ • ’V w- - • - • -- ■ - • • •.* .... ... .. - ... - . . — - - •• . . I »; , tvfff'if V, * ’-'j. I- ' • '» .r ■ . . ■ . 1 . ;•* . • : • . •< ' • . .• ••• -• . ;* ■ :•• • •- ' ■ - ...... •— — : " \i " ' ^ ' - • . . . ‘ . • *w'M fell.* . ' < > • . ‘ Yu . , . / i* .% 3 ••• • » • ' . 1 • ■ * . '. -if ? •' * . ■ • # • • . i ' ' > ; • *: , ' * - - •> V MANGROVE. DODECANDRIA MONOGYNIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx divided into four oblong, sharp-pointed leaves. Corolla of four petals. Seed-vessel fleshy, and containing a single seed. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Rhizophora gymnorhiza. R. foliis ovato-lanceolatis integerri- rais, radice terrae superimposita. Linn. Spec. Plant. IVilld. 2. p. 843. Leaves ovate-lanceolate and entire ; root upon the surface of the earth. R. calycum laciniis persistentibus paten tibus versus fructum incur- vatis. Wachend ult. 89. Mangium celsum. Rumph. Ami. 3. p. 102. pi. 68. Mangrove. . . v . . Rheed. Mai . 6. pi. 31, 32. This singular tree is a native of the East Indies, where it grows to the height of ten or twelve feet, and is always found in moist and marshy places, generally within the influence of the sea, and where the tide can readily wash its stem. The mangrove is divided into a vast number of branches which ex- 144 MANGROVE. tend on all sides, and are thickly covered with oval shining leaves, about five or six inches long. The trunk and the lower branches send out several round flexible shoots, which descend to the ground, and there take root. These shoots, in time, be- come so interlaced as to produce an almost impene- trable grove, somewhat resembling the banyan tree, but much thicker. There is something exceedingly curious in the manner which Nature has chosen to conduct the seed of the mangrove to the earth. It is a remarka- ble deviation from the general rule, and is simply thus : the fruit produces a single seed enclosed in an oval capsule, which, when ripe, begins to ger- minate without falling from the tree. A little ra- dicle makes its appearance from the top of the cap- sule, from whence it proceeds in the form of a ligne- ous fibre till it is more than a foot long. In this state the seed hangs pendent, till by its weight, added to the continual oscillations to which it is subject from the slightest breath of air, it is disen- gaged from the capsule, and falls to the ground. The process which follows is common to other seeds. Several fibres shoot from one end of the seed ; the two cotyledons are forced open ; the plu- mule, or young plant, bursts from between them, supported in its growth by their nourishing juice, till the fibres are converted into roots sufficiently strong to carry on the subsequent process of vege- tation. The seeds are said to fall so as to rest on the earth in a vertical position : this may easily MANGROVE. 145 happen where the ground is perpetually moist, and soft enough to receive any impression, which is the case where these trees are found. The bark, which the Chinese employ to strike a black dye, exhales a very strong smell of sulphur; and the wood, which partakes of the same odour, burns very briskly, and with a bright dazzling flame. In consequence of the mangrove trees growing, as it were, in the water, they become the retreat of fishes, and especially of oysters. These last deposit their spat upon the stems and branches, which in time become loaded with them ; and the oysters gathered from such situations, may be readily known by pieces of the wood which are generally attached to the shells. VOL. III. L TEA TREE. POLYANDRIA MONOGYNIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx small, divided into five or six parts ; leaflets round and obtuse. Corolla of six roundish concave petals. Seed-vessel consisting of three globes united together, each containing a single seed. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Thea Bohea. Floribus hexapetalis. Linn. Spec. Plant. IP'illd. 2. p. 1180.no. 1. Flowers with six petals. Thee. Kampfer. Jap. 605. t. 606. Thee Frutex. Barr. Rar. 128. pi. 904- Thee Sinensium. Bregn. Cent. 111. t. 112. f. 17. t. 3. Bohea Tea. Lettsom. Sect. 8. p. 39- pl« 2. Theaviridis. T. floribus enneapetalis. Linn. Spec. Plant. 2. p. 1180. no. 2. Flowers with nine petals. Thea Cantoniensis. Lour. Cochin. 414. Thea Sinensis. Black, pi. 351. fy. Tea. . . . Lettsom, Nat. Hist, of the Tea Tree. In the Nouveau Dictionnaire d' Histoire Naturelle, the writer, M. du Tour, has begun the above article TEA TREE* 147 to this effect. Tea is a Chinese and Japan shrub, celebrated for its leaf, immense quantities being an- nually exported into other countries, with which the North Americans and Europeans, particularly the English, compose an agreeable drink* The leaf bears in commerce the same name as the plant. The tea leaf, as well as that of tobacco, affords us a striking example of the power of habit over man- kind. Before the conquest of the New World, and the discovery of a passage to the East Indies by the way of the Cape of (iood Hope, the Europeans neither used tea nor tobacco ; at present not a day passes without their using both. Within these two centuries, fleets have been equipped, and men and money sacrificed, to ransack both Indies in search of vegetable productions, of which neither the pos- session nor the use is calculated to increase the happiness of the people, or diminish their wants. The taste of Europeans for Indian productions is worthy of observation. We are not astonished that the inhabitants of Pekin should indulge themselves with tea all the day long; the plant grows in their country, and was presented them by nature ; but that a people situated live or six thousand leagues from China or Japan, should venture so much to procure this favourite drink, and, not content with their excellent beer, and the pipes of wine wl lich their commerce procures them, should make a great part of their enjoyment consist in taking about twenty cups of tea in the course of twenty-four hours, appears singularly ridiculous. Among the various l ‘2 148 TEA TREE. kinds of beverage which the English consume, this holds the first rank. This nation alone consumes more than all the rest of Europe : they attach so much importance to its use, that the first mark of politeness they show to strangers is an invitation to drink tea with them. So much for M. du Tour, to whose accusation we in part plead guilty. — We are fond of tea, go many thousand miles to fetch it, and invite strangers to partake of our beverage, but seldom or ever drink twenty cups in the course of twenty-four hours. The plant, it must be confessed, is become of great im- portance to this country, whether considered in a commercial light, or as affording us an agreeable infusion, which custom has rendered necessary to our comfort : it therefore behoves us to pay parti- cular attention to its history ; and, accordingly, we have collected all the information on the subject that we could procure, independent of such as is not immediately connected with its natural history. It will, however, be but just, before we begin, to ac- knowledge the assistance we have received from the works of Ksempfer and Thunberg ; from Le Compte’s, Du Halde’s, and Grosier’s China ; from Lord Macartney’s Embassy, and from Dr. Lettsom’s Natural Historv of the Tea Tree. •/ Description oj the Tea Tree. This shrub grows but slowly, and does not ar- rive at its full size till it is six or seven years old. It attains the height of four or five feet, and sometimes TEA TREE. l i9 rather more : the root is black, woody and branch- ed ; the stem is divided into several irregular branches, covered with a thin hark, and tinged with green towards the extremity of the young shoots. The wood is hard, fibrous, and but sparingly pro- vided with pith. The leaves are attached to the branches by a short, slender pedicle, and when of their full size resemble the leaves of the black cherry tree both in figure and colour; but when young, and before they are fit to be gathered, they are not unlike the leaves of the common euonymus, except in co- lour. They are numerous, of an intense green, serrated at the edges, and disposed alternately on the branches. The flowers spring from the axils of the leaves ; they are sometimes solitary, and some- times united, two or three together. When full- blown they measure an inch or more, have an agree- able smell, a white colour, and resemble in form the common wild rose. The calyx is cut into five or six segments, and the corolla consists of eight or nine petals; the stamens are very numerous, — Kaemp- fer counted two hundred and thirty, each having: a slender filament shorter than the corolla, crowned w ith a simpleyellow anther. 1 he style is unique, and placed in the centre of the stamens, and the germ, to which it is connected, becomes, when ripe, a tough capsule, sometimes simple, but more frequently composed of two or three partitions, each con- taining a roundish stone that encloses a kernel, from whence the Chinese in the province of Fokien express an oil which they use for some particular purposes. 150 TEA TREE. Cultivation of Tea. With respect to the cultivation of tea in Japan, we learn, from Kaempfer, that no particular gardens or fields are allotted for this plant, but that it is raised about the hedges and borders of their fields, without any regard to the quality of the sod. Ihe seeds are sown, together with their capsules, in holes dug at equal distances from each other, and about four or five inches deep; into each of these they put a number of seeds, usually not less than six or more than twelve. It is necessary to put several into the earth at a time, because they are apt to turn rancid, and perhaps not more than one in five of them will succeed. As soon as the young shoots appear above the sur- face of the earth, it is common with some to mix manure with the mould, and carefully weed the plants, while others sutler them to grow up without paying any particular attention to them. In about seven years after the seed lias been sown, the plants will have arrived at the height of a man : but as at that time they grow' slowly, and produce but few leaves, it is customary to cut them down; which oc- casions such an exuberance of fresh shoots and leaves the succeeding summer, as abundantly repays the owners for their former loss and trouble. Some cul- tivators delay this cutting till the tenth year. The cultivation of this shrub in China is similar to that in Japan, except that, instead of suffering it to grow promiscuously, they plant whole fields TEA TREE. 151 with it. It likewise appears from the abbe Gro- sier’s account that they differ in another respect, since the Chinese of the province of Kiang-nan are the only people who crop the tea shrub ; for every where else it is suffered to grow to its natural size, which sometimes, says Grosier, extends to ten or twelve feet. When the tree is very young, they take care also to incline and bend down its branches, that they may collect its leaves afterwards with greater ease. This shrub seems particularly to de- light in sheltered valleys, the declivities of hills, or the banks of rivers where it enjoys a southern exposure to the sun. These warm situations are not, however, absolutely necessary to the welfare of the plant, since it grows in the northern clime of Pekin, as well as about Canton. It is also to be found on the rugged tops of steep mountains, whose sides are sometimes inaccessible. When this is the case, the Chinese, in order to come at the leaves, make use of a singular stratagem. These steep places are generally frequented by great numbers of monkeys, which, being irritated and provoked, revenge them- selves by tearing off the branches, and showering them down upon their enemies, who immediately collect the fragments and strip them of their leaves. Gathering of the Leaves. W e are indebted to Kaempfer for the best account of this process, who tells us that, at the proper season for gathering the leaves, those who plant many shrubs hire a number of labourers, whose 152 TE\ TREE. business it is to attend to this employment. They are careful not to pluck the leaves by handfuls, but detach them from the branches one by one; and tedi- ous as this method may appear, one man will gather ten or twelve pounds a day. This quantity, how- ever, will depend on the abundance of the crop and the quality of the tea ; neither do they gather them all at once, but generally make three harvests at three different times. The first gathering takes place at the end of Fe- bruary or the beginning of March, when the plant has put forth but few of its leaves, which are only two or three days old. At this time they are viscid, small, and tender: the tea which is made from them is reckoned by far the best, and from its scar- city is reserved for princes and rich people; for this reason it is called Imperial tea. The second gathering is made about the end of March, or in the first days of April. The leaves at this season are much larger, without having lost any of their flavour : they, however, differ with respect to their maturity, some being arrived at perfection, while others have not attained their full growth. Nevertheless they are gathered promiscuously, but sorted afterwards into different classes, according to their age, size, and quality ; the youngest particu- larly are carefully separated, and are often sold for the first gathering, or Imperial tea. The third gathering, which is the last and most abundant, commences a month after the second, which happens about June, when the leaves have TEA TREE. 153 acquired their full size and thickness. In some places they neglect the two preceding crops, and attend alone to this. This kind of tea, called Ban - tsjaa , is the coarsest, and chiefly consumed by the lower class of people. Preparation of the Tea-leaves. In China and Japan they have different ways of preparing the leaves ; the method described by Kaempfer is as follows : Public buildings or drying- houses having been erected in the isles of Japan for the purpose of curing the fresh-gathered tea, every private person who has no suitable conveniences, or who is unacquainted with the operation, may carry his leaves thither to be dried. These buildings -contain a great number of small stoves, raised about three feet high, each having at the top a large iron plate, either high, square, or round, bent up a little on that side which is over the mouth of the fur- nace, that the operator may be secured from the heat, and the leaves at the same time be prevented from falling off. The workmen are seated round a large table covered with mats, where they busily employ themselves in rolling the leaves. The iron pan being heated to a proper degree by a little fire placed in a furnace beneath, a few pounds of fresh- gathered leaves are put in, which, being green and full of sap, crackle as soon as they touch the pan. They are then stirred by the workman, with his naked hands, as quickly as possible, till they become so warm that he cannot easily endure the heat. When 154 TEA TREE. the process has proceeded thus far, he takes off the leaves with a kind of shovel resembling a fan, and pours them upon the mats to the rollers, who, taking a small quantity at a time, roll them in the palms of their hands in one direction, while others are continually employed in stirring them in order to cool them the sooner, and make them preserve their shrivelled figure a longer time. That their moisture may be thoroughly evapo- rated, and their curl more completely preserved, this process is repeated twice or thrice, and some- times oftener, before the tea is deposited in the warehouses ; with this difference, that on every re- petition the pan is less heated, and the operation performed in a more slow and cautious manner. The people in the country are not so particular in preparing of their tea : they are contented with drying the leaves in earthen vessels over the fire, which being a much simpler process is of course less expensive ; and on this account they are en- abled to sell their tea at a much lower price. The common tea is preserved in earthen pots with narrow mouths ; but the best sort of tea, used by the emperor and nobility, is put in porcelain or china vessels. The Bantsjaa , or coarsest tea, is kept by the country people in straw baskets, made in the shape of barrels, which they place under the roofs of their houses, near the hole that lets out the smoke, and imagine that this situation does not injure the tea. The popular opinion, that the green colour of the TEA TREE. 155 fine sort of tea is occasioned by the use of copper plates, is entirely without foundation. Father Le Compte, indeed, has mentioned the circumstance ; but we have no reason to place implicit credit on what he says, particularly as the observations of sub- sequent authors have invariably contradicted his as- sertion. Sir George Staunton, after giving a few particulars respecting the growth of the tea-plant in China, says, that the young leaves undergo no inconsiderable preparation before they are delivered to the purchaser. “ Every leaf passes through the fingers of a female, who rolls it up almost to the form it had assumed before it became expanded in the progress of its growth. It is afterwards placed upon thin plates of earthenware or iron, made much thinner than can be executed by artists out of China. It is confidently said in the country, that no plates of copper are ever employed for that purpose. Indeed, scarcely any utensil in China is of that metal, the chief use of which is for coinage. The colour and astringency of green tea are thought to be derived from the early period at which the leaves are plucked, and which, like unripe fruit, are generally green and acrid.” Sir George informs us that the tea is packed in large chests, lined with very thin plates of lead and the dried leaves of some large vegetable. " It is but too true, that the tea is pressed dow n into those chests by the naked feet of Chinese labourers, as grapes are pressed by the wooden shoes of Euro- pean peasants; in which last case the juices are 156 TEA TREE. purified by the subsequent fermentation. Not- withstanding this uncleanly operation of Chinese packers, the upper ranks in China are as fond of tea as the people are, and particularly solicitous in their choice of it.” The different Kinds of Tea mentioned by the Chinese . Several kinds of tea are distinguished by the Chinese, all of which may be reduced to four prin- cipal varieties; viz. the Song-lo tcha , the Vou-y tchai the Lou-ngcin tcha , and the Pow-eul t.clia. The name of the first is derived from the moun- tain Song-lo , situated in the province of Riang-nan. This mountain, which is described as far from ex- tensive, is entirely covered with the tea shrub, as well as the bottoms of several others in the neigh- bourhood. This is the kind which we call green tea. It is cultivated almost like the vine, and cropped when it arrives at a certain height, to pre- vent it from shooting beyond its strength. The Song-lo tcha , when carefully kept, will preserve its flavour for several years, and is used by the inhabi- tants of the country as an excellent remedy in vari- ous disorders. The Vou-y tcha , however, is the kind of tea in most esteem throughout the Chinese empire. The best of this forms the Imperial tea, and is the same as that gathered in Japan for the sole use of the imperial family. The care which is taken to pre- serve this precious shrub, and to gather its leaves without injury, is thus noticed by Grosier: “ The TEA TREE. 15 7 finest and most celebrated tea of Japan is that which grows near Ud-si , a small village situated close to the sea, and not far distant from Meaco . In the district of this village is a delightful moun- tain, having the same name, the climate of which is said to be extremely favourable to the culture of tea ; it is therefore enclosed by a hedge, and sur- rounded with wide ditches, which prevent all access to it. The tea shrubs that grow on this mountain are planted in regular order, and are divided by dif- ferent avenues and alleys. The care of this place is intrusted to people who are ordered to guard the leaves from dust, and to defend them from the in- clemency of the weather. The labourers who are appointed to collect the tea, abstain from every kind of gross food for some weeks before they begin, that their breath and perspiration may not in the least injure the leaves. They gather them with the most scrupulous nicety, and never touch them but with verv fine gloves. When this choice tea has undergone the process necessary for its preparation, it is escorted by the superintendant of the mountain and a strong guard, to the emperor’s court, and re- served for the use of the imperial family. The Vou-y tcha tea, which is known in Europe by the name of Bohea, is considered as lighter, sweeter, and of a more delicate taste than the Son<> •_ lo. The second sort of it, which is composed of older leaves, is sold in common with other teas; and the third, which consists of leaves that have been suffered to remain on the tree till they have attained 158 TEA TREE. their full size, is of a much inferior quality, and sold to the common people at a cheap rate. The Lou-ngan tcha derives its name from a city near which it grows. This seems to be the same as the Song-lo, somewhat altered in its properties by soil and situation. The village of Pow-eul , in the province of Yunnan , from whence the fourth kind of tea is procured, is become of importance in consequence of its com- mercial dealings in this single article. We are told that people resort to it from all parts ; but that the entrance is forbidden to strangers, who are not permitted to approach nearer than the bottoms of the mountains, to receive the quantity of tea which they want. The leaves of this shrub are longer and thicker than those of the Song-lo tcha , and Vou-y tcha ; they are formed into masses, rolled up like tobacco, and sold at a dear rate. This tea, which is much used in some ol the Chinese pro- vinces, is of a less agreeable flavour than the other kinds. The Mo^ul Tartars use a kind of tea which is composed of the refuse of all the rest. This is known by the name of Kaiel tcha , and serves these people as a beverage to assist them in digesting their raw flesh. The Uses and Properties of Tea. The Chinese drink their tea in the same manner as we do, but without either sugar or milk. The emperor Kien-long has composed a little poem in TEA TREE. 159 praise of this infusion, to the following effect : “ Put on a moderate fire a three-legged vessel, the form and colour of which bespeak long services ; fill it with limpid water procured from melted snow ; boil it to that degree which is necessary to whiten fish, or redden crabs, and immediately pour it over the tender leaves of choice tea put into a cup made of the earth yuc . Leave it at rest until the vapours, which at first rise in abundance, form thick clouds, afterwards gradually disappear, at length vanish, and leave only some light exhalations floating on the surface; then, at leisure, sip this delicious liquor. It will effectually dispel those five causes of in- quietude that generally assail us and disturb our repose. We may taste, we may feel, but we can- not express, the soft tranquillity occasioned by a liquor prepared in this manner.” The Japanese nobility drink the very essence of the finest tea, which they extract in the following manner: The tea is reduced to a fine powder, by grinding the leaves in a hand-mill ; and when the tea equipage is introduced, a quantity of this pow- der enclosed in a box is set before the company. The cups are then filled with boiling water, and as much of the powder as will lay on the point of a knife is taken out of the box, thrown into each of the cups, and stirred with an instrument like a tooth-pick till the liquor begins to foam ; in which state it is presented to the company, and sipped warm. The poorer class of people, who drink an inferior TEA TREE* l6’0 tea, prepare their infusion in a different manner. They make use of this liquor for their common beverage, and we seldom see a picture, in which any labourers are represented, without the tea equi- page as an accompaniment. The first thing in the morning, even before sun-rise, the Japanese peasant places his kettle of water over the fire, and puts into it two, three, or four handfuls of the Bantsjaa tea leaves, according to the number of his family. It should be noticed that a small basket is pre- viously sunk in the kettle, that the leaves may be readily drawn out again when their virtue is ex- tracted. Where this basket is wanting, it is com- mon with them to enclose the tea in a bag. The kettle is generally large enough to serve the family for the day, and they apply to it whenever they feel inclined, drawing up the liquor with a little cup which they keep for the purpose. The art of making tea in a graceful manner is considered of so much consequence in Japan, that the young people of both sexes are taught by pro- fessors, who make it their business to instruct them, in the same manner as an European would be taught any branch of polite education. The poor people, particularly in the province of Nara, sometimes boil their rice, which is their com- mon food, in an infusion of tea, which, they believe, increases its nutritive quality. According to Bomare, the nobility in China use an extract of tea, and likewise pastils of tea, aro- matized, which are of an agreeable flavour. When TEA TREE. l6l this preparation is used, a piece about the size of a small bean is put into the boiling water. They also dry the buds of the tea shrub, and drink the tea made from them as a delicacy. When the tea has been kept till it has lost its flavour, and is no longer fit to drink, it is used by the Asiatics to dye their silken stuffs, to which it imparts a chestnut brown colour. It is for this pur- pose that a vast quantity of the leaves is annually sent from China to Surat. Neither the Chinese, nor the people of Japan, ever use their tea before it is a twelvemonth old, as it is very apt to prove narcotic, and disorder the senses when fresh. Kaempfer says that an infusion made from the green leaves will produce apparent drunkenness, and great nervous disorder; these vio- lent effects, however, are considerably removed by drying. Nevertheless it ought not to be used the same year it is gathered. There can be little doubt that the fine effluvia from our finest tea is pernicious to particular con- stitutions. Dr. Lettsom distilled an ounce of highly odorous water from half a pound of green tea, which produced great nervous irritability, while that which remained in the retort was quite innocent. This gentleman has likewise mentioned some cases where wre may fairly suspect this effluvia to have caused the mischief; of these the two following will be sufficient for our purpose. “ An eminent tea-broker, after having examined vol. in. M 16*2 TEA TREE. in one day upwards of one hundred chests of tea, only by smelling at them forcibly, in order to distinguish their respective qualities, was the next day seized with a violent giddiness, head-ache, uni- versal spasms, and loss of speech and memory. By proper assistance the symptoms abated, but he did not recover. For though his speech returned, and his memory in some degree, yet he continued, with unequal steps, gradually losing strength, till a para- lysis ensued, then a more general one, and at length he died. Whether this was owing to the effluvia of the tea may perhaps be doubted. Future acci- dents may possibly confirm the suspicions to be just, or otherwise. “ An assistant to a tea-broker had frequently for some weeks complained of pain and giddiness of his head, after examining and mixing different kinds of tea. The giddiness was sometimes so con- siderable, as to render it necessary for a person to attend him, in order to prevent any injury he might suffer from falling or other accident. He was bled in the arm freely, but without permanent relief; his complaint returned as soon as he was exposed to his usual employment. At length he was advised to be electrified, and the shocks were directed to his head. The next day his pain was diminished, but the day after closed the tragical scene. I saw him a few hours before he died ; he was insensible ; the use of his limbs almost lost, and he sunk very sud- denly into a fatal apoplexy. Whether the effluvia TEA TREE. 16*3 of the tea, or electricity, was the cause of this event, is doubtful. In either view the case is worthy of attention The Introduction of Tea into Europe. The first European writer who has alluded to the tea plant is Giovani Botero: this person pub- lished a treatise in 1590, in which he does not im- mediately mention its name, but describes it in a manner which sufficiently explains what he meant. “ The Chinese,” says he, “ have an herb out of which they press a delicate juice, which serves them for drink instead of wine ; it also preserves their health, and frees them from all those evils which the immoderate use of wine produces among us.” About the year lfioo, the dried leaves were seen, in Malacca, by one Texeira a Spaniard, who was told that the Chinese prepared an infusion from them. In lb33 the practice was noticed among the Persians; and in 1630 the Russian ambassador, at tbe court of the Mogul, partook of the infusion, and was offered a quantity of the leaves at his de- parture as a present for the emperor, which he re- fused as a useless article. * From these instances of the deleterious effects of tea, one might be led to suppose that the same unhappy consequences would frequently attend those who are employed in examining and mixing different kinds of tea in China : but there the teas are mixed under an open shed, through which the air has a free current, by which the odour and the dust are dissipated but in London this business is usually done in a back room, confined on every side. M o 4* 164 TEA TREE. Tea was first introduced into Europe about the year l6l0, by the Dutch East India company, and in 1666 a quantity of it was brought from Holland to this country by lord Arlington and lord Ossory. Soon after this period tea became a fashionable be- verage among the people of quality, and the use of it by degrees descended to all ranks. We must conclude, however, that tea was used in England before the period above mentioned, since it appears from an act passed in 1666, that a duty on tea, among other articles, was then settled on the king during his life. At this time a pound of tea sold for sixty shillings, and continued at this price till the year I/O 7. Since the year 1/20 the demand for this article has been rapidly increasing. In the beginning of the last century the annual quantity imported by the East India company did not much exceed 50,000 pounds weight; in the year 1/97, nearly twenty millions of pounds were sold at their public sales! This is an increase of four hundred fold in less than a century, and since the year 1/9/ a still greater quantity has been annually imported. From the great demand which has long prevailed for this favourite article, the Chinese have found it necessary, or at least profitable, to adulterate it, and bad tea is now become an universal complaint : but unfortunately the mischief does not stop there; for it appears from Mr. Twining’s pamphlet, that many tricks are played with it in this country, some mil- lions of pounds of ash, sloe, and other leaves of trees, having been sold as tea, notwithstanding three acts TEA TREE. 165 of parliament which have been made to prevent such practices. Mr. Twining gained the following information respecting this subject from a gentleman who had inquired particularly into the business. The smouch for mixing with black teas is made of the leaves of the ash. When gathered they are first dried in the sun, then baked; they are next put upon a floor, and trod upon until the leaves are small, then sifted and steeped in copperas with sheep’s dung; after which, being dried on a floor, they are tit for use. They have, likewise, another method which does not differ materially from this. The quantity manufactured at a small village, and in its neighbourhood, cannot be exactly ascertained, but it is supposed to be about twenty tons in a year. One man acknowledges to have made 6*00 lbs. weight in every week for six months together! The fine is sold at 4l. 4s. the hundred weight, equal to nine pence a pound. The coarse at 2l. 2s. equal to 4±d. a pound. Elder buds are likewise said to be manu- factured in some places to represent fine teas. BAOBAB TREE. MONADELPHIA POLYANDRIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx of one leaf, cup-shaped, and half five-cleft. Corolla of five roundish petals. Seed-vessel oval, divided into ten cells, containing many kidney -shaped seeds. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Adansonia digitata. Linn. Spec. Plant. IVilld. 3. p. 730. Abavo arbor ; radice tuberosa. Bauh. Pin. 434. Abavo tree with tuberose root. Guanabanus Scaligeri. Bauh.Hist. 1. p. 109. Raj. Hist. 1371. Baobab Tree. . . . Alp. AEgypt. 66. pi. 67 • Bauh. Hist. \. p. 110. Diet d' Hist. Nat. e d. 1803. 2. p. 544. pi. A. 23. Mem. de V Acad, des Sciences, 1763. ( Adan - son) The tree which goes by the name of baobab is one of the largest productions of the vegetable king- dom. It is of African origin, and flourishes in Senegal ; but what is highly remarkable in this BAOBAB TREE. lG7 species is, that notwithstanding its immense size, a trifling injury is sufficient to destroy it. We are told that it thrives best in moist and sandy situa- tions, though it is occasionally found in stony districts. If this tree be wounded deeply in the principal root, (even the least scratch is pernicious,) it soon begins to rot, and the evil spreading to the trunk quickly destroys the tree. Besides the rot, which attacks the trunk when the root is cut, the baobab is subject to another evil, not so common indeed, but equally fatal. This is a kind of mouldi- ness which spreads over all the woody part, and so softens it, that the tree no longer preserves its usual consistence. In this state the trunk, monstrous as it is, can no longer resist the violence of the winds, but falls a sacrifice to tbe first storm that blows. In its native country the seed of the baobab, sown in a sandy earth where there is plenty of moisture, will vegetate in the course of seven or eight days ; and in a month the young tree will be a foot high. In the first summer its altitude will be increased to five or six feet, and its stem to an inch or an inch and a half in diameter. In this manner the plant continues progressively to increase, till, from a slen- der stick, it becomes in time a most prodigious tree. Some of those which Adanson saw in Senegal mea- sured twenty-seven feet in diameter, and Ray says that between the rivers Niger and Gambia their dimensions are so monstrous, that seventeen men, joining hands, could hardly surround one of them : from which we may conclude that the largest of l68 BAOBAB TREE. these trees were about eighty-five feet in circum- ference, and thirty in diameter. Golberry likewise, in his Travels in Africa, tells us that he met with them of thirty-four feet in diameter. Although the baobab is very tender, and susceptible of injury, it must survive a vast number of years, or it could never .arrive at the amazing size we have just stated; and as a proof of its longevity we shall quote Golberry, who measured one of the trees mentioned by Adanson, thirty-six years after that celebrated naturalist, and found that it had only increased a foot and some inches in circumference, or about eight lines in diameter! The baobab contains within its substance a great quantity of mucilage, or gummy matter, which is slightly acid. The leaves, boiled in water, give out this mucilage so as to make the decoction viscous. u The fruit, which is a thick, oval, and hairy capsule, contains a number of seeds enclosed within ten sepa- rate chambers, and the white spongy flesh which surrounds these seeds is of an acid and agreeable flavour. This, however, is only while it is eaten fresh, as it loses much of its goodness by keeping. This tree is reckoned the most useful and salu- tary of any that grows in Senegal. The negroes make great use of its leaves, which they dry in a shady place, and afterwards grind to a green pow der called cci/o. This powder is kept in cotton cloths and used daily, two or three pinches being put into their couscous or other dish, lhis is not done by way of improving the flavour of this meat, for the BAOBAB TREE. I® leaves have none, but to moderate the excessive perspiration to which they are subject in that hot country, by lowering the circulation of the blood. They also make a diet drink of the leaves to pre- serve them from those fevers which are common to the country ; and this is either sweetened with sugar or liquorice, to make it more palatable. The fruit too is very much esteemed, and is scarcely less useful than the leaves, since the fleshy part of it serves them for nourishment, either eaten alone, or in milk. It is likewise an object of some im- portance when considered in a commercial light ; for the Mandingues carry it to the eastern and central parts of Africa, whilst the Moors and Arabs trade with it in Morocco; in this manner it has been spread over Egypt, and all the eastern side of the Mediterranean. It was in these last coun- tries that they reduced the pulp into powder, and exported it from the Levant under the very impro- per name of Terra sigillata of Lemnos. The ligneous bark of the husk, and the fruit it- self when it is spoiled, serve the negroes for soap: all the preparation required is to boil it with a ley mixed with palm oil that is turning rancid, or with an oil extracted from a kind of kermes, which is very common in certain districts. But the natives have another use for this tree, which is very singular. They make large cavities in the trunks of those that are rotten, forming them into chambers, or rather vast caverns, where they hang the dead bodies of such persons as have BAOBAB TREE. 170 forfeited the rites of sepulture ; these bodies in time become perfectly dry, and are complete mummies without any other preparation. The greatest num- ber of persons so suspended, are said to have been jugglers, or to have pretended to a superior know- ledge, by which they drew upon themselves the in- dignation of the other negroes, who considered them as sorcerers. COTTON PLANT. MONADELPHIA POLYANDRIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx double. Corolla of five inversely heart-shaped petals. Seed-vessel roundish, divided into three or four chambers, containing several oval seeds. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Gossypium herbaceum. G. foliis quinquelobis mucronatis sub- tus uniglandulosis, caule herbaceo laeve. Linn. Spec. Plant. Willd. 3. p. 803. Leaves divided into five pointed lobes with a single gland beneath stem smooth and herbaceous. G. foliis quinquelobis subtus uniglan- dulosis, lobis rotundatis mucronatis, calyce exteriore serrato. Lamarck. Encyclop. 2. p. 133. G. frutf.scens, semine albo. Bank. Pin. 430. Cotton Plant. . . . Cavan. Diss. 6. p. 310. pi. 164. f. 2. Blackw. Herb. pi. 354. This useful plant is found in Cyprus, in the island of Candia, in Syria, and in the Indies ; it is also COTTON PLANT. 1/2 cultivated in Malta, and in Sicily. In Europe this species of cotton is annual, but in some parts of Africa it is said to be perennial, and to form a moderate sized shrub. The usual height of the plant, in those countries where it is raised for com- mercial purposes, is about two feet ; the stem is hard, woody, and hairy on the upper part. The leaves, which are divided into five lobes, are re- markable for a green gland situated on the back. The peduncles issue from the axils of the leaves, and each bears a yellow flower, with a toothed calyx. Among the numerous productions of the vege- table kingdom there is not one, perhaps, that can exceed the cotton in point of general utility. A vast number of trees, shrubs, and herbs, are cal- culated to afford us nourishment ; but there are very few that furnish us with the materials for clothing. Among these few the cotton plant ought to be placed in the first rank. Hemp and flax, which are cultivated in the temperate and colder parts of Europe, are certainly of great service to mankind, and afford a maintenance to a number of people employed in the manufactory of their pro- duce; but while these herbs require several long and laborious preparations to form their gummy bark into thread, the cotton offers to the inhabitants of both Indies a substance ready formed by Nature to their hands. The fineness of the thread, and the transeendant whiteness of this soft down, induced mankind to cultivate the plant, and the value of its COTTON PLANT. 173 produce soon rendered them solicitous to propagate and multiply it as much as possible. Thus the dif- ferent species (for there are several,) became objects of commerce in the four quarters of the globe; for although Asia and America afford the principal quantity, yet it is cultivated both in Europe and Africa. It would perhaps be very difficult to distinguish all the varieties of the cotton plant which are culti- vated for commercial purposes in the different parts of the world, nor would it be at all to our purpose to attend to this subject ; for us it is sufficient to know that the shrub thrives best in hot countries, where it sometimes grows several feet in height ; and that before America was discovered by the Eu- ropeans, many species of cotton grew wild which have since been turned to account, with the addition of several from Asia and Africa, which have been transported there at different times, and found to succeed admirably well. The history of a plant of so much importance as the cotton, ought not to be slightly passed over ; we shall therefore give some account of its cultivation in the different quarters of the world, after having described that part of the plant which produces this valuable article. The corolla (or flower) consists of five petals, containing many stamens united at the base into a column, and bearing on their tops as many kidney- shaped anthers. From a roundish germen proceeds a style as long or longer than the stamens, and 1>*4 COTTON TLANT. crowned with three or four thick stigmas. The capsule is the size of a small egg, of a spherical or rather oval figure, divided into three or four valves, and having as many chambers full ot green or black seeds surrounded by a white, yellowish, or reddish down. This down is the cotton, and is of different degrees of length and fineness. When the down is ripe it bursts the valves, and spreads itself over the sides of the capsule. Cultivation of Cotton in Europe. The Gossypium herbaceum is cultivated in the island of Malta, in Sicily, in a part of Calabria, and in some of the isles in the Archipelago. It has likewise been attempted to raise the plant in France; and from the success which the agriculturists met in their first essays, there can be no doubt of the possibility of effecting it in Provence, in Dauphine, and in Languedoc. This species of cotton succeeds, as we have just remarked, in Sicily, in the island of Malta, and in Calabria. The manner in which it is cultivated in these three countries is much the same. I be tei- ritory of Terra Nuova , which stretches along the shore to the west of Syracuse, in the valley of Note, is the part of Sicily more particularly destined to the cultivation of cotton. Fhe land wliic h the} employ for this purpose is of a good quality, and free from noisome weeds: they till the ground five or six times from November to April, and water it in May. When it is sufficiently moistened they COTTON PLANT. 175 sow the seeds of the cotton plant, after having pre- viously soaked them in water, and rubbed them well to detach the filaments. When this operation is completed, the husbandmen rake the earth, not with a harrow, that being an uncommon instrument in Sicily, but with the branches of trees bound to- p-ether and drawn over the land by oxen. This practice promotes the germinating of the grain, by confining the necessary moisture within the earth. As the seed degenerates every year, and at length ceases to produce cotton of a good quality, the Sicilian cultivators are obliged to come to Malta ; and the Maltese, for the same reason, exchange their seed for that produced in Sicily. In Malta the cultivation of cotton has been for a lone while one of the most considerable branches o of agriculture in the country. All parts of the island are not equally proper for this purpose, though there is land sufficient for the cultivation of three distinct kinds, the herbaceous cotton , the cotton of Siam and the cotton which comes from the An- tilles^ and which is a taller plant than either of the preceding. The Maltese ladies amuse themselves in picking the cotton, and the Maltese are very expert in making the thread which is employed in the manu- factory of different kinds of hosiery. Of late years they have made great improvements in their cotton thread, which appears to be partly owing to the In- dian workmen that have been sent to their assist- ance from the coast of Malabar. COTTON PLANT. 176 I11 Calabria, the districts in the neighbourhood of the town of Lecce, in Otranto, and Gallipoli, are more particularly appropriated to the cultivation of the cotton plant. They plough the ground in Ja- nuary, and again in April : in May they sow the seed, and gather the fruit in September or October. They export the greatest part of their produce, either in the form of thread, or in other states. In Lecce they manufacture common muslins, and in several other towns they work the cotton into stock- ings and counterpanes. In Syra, one of the islands in the Archipelago, the inhabitants are careful to prepare the cotton- seed before they sow it, and for this purpose they proceed in the following manner : having procured a quantity of river-sand, they mix it with the seed, pouring water repeatedly over the mass, and stirring it well together: it is then rubbed with their hands on a flat stone, until all the dowm which may have adhered to the seed is separated, after which it is cleaned from the sand, and tit to be sown. The species which they cultivate in this island is not so handsome as some ; nevertheless it produces a red- dish cotton of a good quality, which becomes per- fectly white after repeated washings. Some years ago the cotton plant was raised with success in Spain ; so much so, that in the province of Valencia a sufficient quantity of land was occu- pied by it, to produce in the year 1 7^8.3 tour hun- dred weight of cotton. COTTON PLANT. 177 Cultivation of Cotton in Ana. Although Asia produces a greater number of cot- ton plants than any other part of the world, yet we have not any exact description of the manner in which they are raised or propagated. Voyagers have for the most part neglected to say any thing on the subject. China, the hast Indies, the Mogul empire, the kingdom of Siam, of Pegu, and the country of Bengal, produce at this moment immense quantities of cotton, of which the most part is ex- ported in a crude state, or converted into different stuffs, that have long been the admiration of Euro- peans for the beauty of their texture. Marsden informs us that in the island of Sumatra they cultivate two kinds of cotton, both of which •/ yield this substance of an excellent quality, and in «reat abundance. o In Persia it is very common. Gmelin describes it as growing in rich lands, and says that in those districts of Masandaran where the soil is poor, they are obliged to supply the deficiency with manure. The plants are arranged in furrows, at about a foot distance from each other, and a moderate quantity of rain is highly necessary to make them succeed. The cotton harvest in this part of Asia begins about the end of September. This little shrub is equally common in Arabia, but we are totally ignorant in what manner it is cultivated. In Syria and in Palestine its use ap- pears to be confined to domestic purposes. 'In Asia VOL. III. N COTTON PLANT. I7S M inor and in Natolia it has, for a length of time, been cultivated by the Turks, the Armenians, and the Greeks. Smyrna and Aleppo carry on a con- siderable traffic in this article, and the plains of the former are said to produce it in great abundance. It is common in the island of Cyprus, where a very beautiful cotton is grown that sells in Europe at an advanced price : nevertheless, even here there are different degrees of fineness in this article, and each harvest has its cotton of different qualities. The inhabitants divide the cotton into two kinds ; that which grows near running streams, and that which is raised in dry places. The first is culti- vated about the villages, where there are little brooks or rivulets, from whence they water the plants. The cotton thus produced is infinitely su- perior in quality to that which is raised in dry places, without any moisture to refresh the shrubs except what falls from heaven. In April the in- habitants begin to sow the cotton-seed ; they con- sider this as the best time of the year: but as at this season a species of locust annually visits the island and commits great ravages, just as the young plants are beginning to shoot, they purposely re- tard the culture, that their crop may not be in- jured by them. A good harvest in this island will produce five thousand bales of cotton ; when only three thousand are raised, the harvest of that year is considered as but indifferent. Whilst the island was in the possession of the Venetians, they have even produced as much as thirty thousand bales : COTTON PLANT. 1 7i) but the population of this spot having decreased considerably since that period, the culture of this plant has diminished in proportion, and is now re- duced to the annual quantity which we have just stated. Cultivation of Cotton in Africa, The little comparative knowledge we have of this vast quarter of the world prevents our saying much about its products. Nevertheless it appears certain that this shrub is cultivated, not only on the coasts, but likewise up the country ; since the caravans which annually travel from the interior of Africa to Egypt, for the commerce of slaves and gum, carry with them cotton stuffs, of which the colour and form are sufficient to stamp them of African origin. In Senegal, at Sierra-Leone, and in the European factories on the coast of Guinea, samples of cotton are frequently seen, which have been brought from the interior by the negroes, and bartered for other commodities. Although this cotton is beautifully soft and white, it is less esteemed by the negroes than that of a bright yellow colour, which is found in the kingdom of Dahomy, where the exporta- tion of this precious article is prohibited by very severe laws. These plants are never raised at the Cape cf Good Hope; at least they are not mentioned by travellers who have visited that part of Africa; which we presume would have been the case had 180 COTTON PLANT. the cotton been cultivated in that quarter. We are under the same incertitude with respect to the C afire country and Ethiopia, although the climate of both these places is very well calculated to promote its growth. It is said that considerable quantities of cotton were once cultivated in Egypt, This, however, has been doubted by some, who suppose that it was not the production of their own country, but imported from Persia and India by the way of the Red Sea. What is now grown by the Egyptians appears to be more for domestic purposes than for any com- mercial speculation. The climate of Barbary is well calculated to produce good cotton ; but the plant is unknown there, the inhabitants being con- tent with their fine wools, which they not only make into garments, but export to considerable ad- vantage. Cultivation of Cotton in America . After having reviewed the cultivation of this use- ful vegetable in the three other quarters of the world, we now come to the last, which in this, as well as in other respects, is by no means the least considerable. In the West Indies, in Guinea, and in the greatest part of Brazil, the culture of this plant is particularly attended to ; and such is the genial nature of the soil, that it grows almost in any situation. The plants generally flourish for four or five years successively, after which they COTTON PLANT. 181 rapidly decline in strength, and produce but little cotton. Their place is then supplied by others, and the manner in which the plants are raised is as follows : In a shady situation, as much as possible de- fended from the north and north-east winds, the planters prepare the land, and dig trenches into which they put the seeds. A very small quantity of rain is sufficient to make them shoot, and in about three weeks or a month the plants are suf- ficiently grown to require thinning. In doing this they pull up all the superfluous ones, leaving but very few in each trench. At a certain period of the growth of these shrubs, they contrive to stop, or rather to check the circulation of the sap in the main stem, so as to throw it into the lateral branches. This practice, when properly managed, forces the plants to subdivide, by which means they become more fruitful. If the season proves favourable, the cotton harvest begins about seven or eight months after the seed is sown, and it is generally three months before all the crop is gathered. In some countries they have two harvests, but the first is always the most abun- dant. Sometimes, from the negligence of the ne- groes the crop is very much injured. They gather the capsules by handfuls, mixing the cotton with the dry leaves, and the dirt which adheres to them: thus the mill through which the capsules are passed becomes clogged, and the cotton damaged. When 182 COTTON PLANT. a negro collects the cotton in a proper manner, he draws the branches of the plant gently towards him, and is careful not to bruise them, as he is well aware that if the branches are injured the cap- sules which are not quite ripe will never come to perfection. The baskets used for the purpose of col- lecting the cotton, hold about fifty pounds weight, which, when full, they carry to the masters house, and spread the contents to dry in the sun, on cloths. After the cotton has been thus exposed for two or three days, it is picked, and then carried to the magazine. This repository is supported on strong piles of wood, lined with tin; which prevents the rats, which are extremely fond of cotton seeds, from doing any mischief. The cotton is separated from the seeds by being passed between rollers of wood, placed in a hori- zontal direction, one above another, and turned by means of a handle. Some of these cotton-mills are constructed upon a very large scale, and turned by water. The French have one in the island ol St. Lucia which turns a roller forty feet long, and twenty in diameter. But this is not all ; for the same cylinder during its rotation turns eight or ten smaller mills to which it it is connected. The cotton is packed for exportation in bags or sacks, which for this purpose are suspended on stakes. After a certain quantity of cotton is put in, a negro treads it down, and that it may lie the closer it is not unusual to wet the sack. The com- COTTON PLANT. 183 pression which it undergoes from the feet of the negroes is highly necessary, as the closer it is packed, the less the commodity suffers from those unavoida- ble accidents which it is liable to during the time of its exportation. When the harvest is over, they take the oppor- tunity of wet weather to cut the plants down; which occasions them to shoot again the next season with double vigour, and greatly improves the ensuing crop. MOVING PLANT. DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx a single leaf, half five-cleft. Corolla papilionaceous and striated. Seed-vessel a compressed, bivalve, articulated pod, contain- ing kidney-shaped seeds. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Hedysarum gyrans. H. foliis ternalis ovali-lanceolatis obtusis, lateralibus minutissimis, panicula ter- minali, lomentis inferne repandis sca- briusculis pendulis. Linn. Spec. Plant. Willd. 3. pt. 2. p. 1135. no. 38. Leaves three together, obtuse, and of an ovate-lanceolate shape : the two lateral leaves very small ; flower-spike termi- nal ; lomentum hanging down, bent back, and rough. Moving Plant. • . Jacq. Icon. Bar. 3. pi. 565. Darwin, Bot. Gard. Act. ed. 2. p. 221. pi. 7* This singular plant is a native of Bengal, where it is known amongst the natives by the name of chun- dcili borrum . The stem is round, smooth, and branched; the leaves, which grow three together MOVING PLANT. 185 on the same leaf-stalk, consist ol one of consideiable size, which is long, and tapering to a point, besides two very small ones which are situated at the base of the other. The flowers are of the papilionaceous kind, and grow in clusters at the end ol the stalk, producing a legume or pod that contains several seeds. The moving plant exhibits one ol those phaeno- mena which is calculated to arrest our attention, as much perhaps from the great singularity of the ap- pearance, as from any particular desire to discover the cause. The lateral leaves are in continual motion, without any regard to time, order, or di- rection. One leaf will frequently be agitated, while its opposite companion remains perfectly quiet; some will move but little, while others are almost turned round. In the day-time the middle leaf is extended in a horizontal direction, but at night it declines and lies close to the branches. This is generally immoveable, while the lateral leaves are constantly in action. In India all the leaves are in motion at the same time, as it is there in full vigour, and has every advantage which its native soil and air can give it; but in colder climates, where it is confined to the green-house, its move- ments are by no means so prompt, nor does the plant ever retain that action and vigorous motion which it enjoys in Bengal. It has been remarked that the general motion of the lateral leaves is alter- nate ; that it is the little petiole or footstalk, to which they are attached, that communicates the motion ; that the leaves describe the arc of a circle, 186 MOVING PLANT. and that they move downwards with less facility than they do in a contrary direction. The cause by which this singular faculty in the Hedyscirum gyrans is effected, still remains to be discovered. It seems necessary to the very exist- ence of the plant ; and as a proof of its importance in the ceconomy of this vegetable, the leaves are al- ways in the greatest state of agitation when the plant is in full bloom, and the germ begins to swell. From this circumstance we may infer that there is something more in this motion than we are aware of ; and that the opinion of Broussonet, that the agitation of the air is the principal cause of this phenomenon, will hardly be admitted ; especially as the plant continues to move day and night, whether exposed to the open air, or shut up from its influ- ence in the green-house. The power which actuates this plant, from what- ever stimulus it may proceed, is not easily destroyed; since the leaves will continue to move for some days after a branch is separated from the main stem, pro- vided it is kept in water. The Indians, who observe these motions with a kind of superstitious reverence, and who are ever ready to place a confidence in the subject of their admiration, gather on a certain day two of the la- teral leaves of this plant, while they are in the act of approaching each other. These they pound, to- gether with the tongue of a species of screech-owl, and firmly believe that this preparation will prevent their being crossed in love, by rendering the object of their affection propitious. INDIGO. DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx of one leaf, with five teeth. Corolla papilionaceous. Seed-vessel a long pod, filled with kidney-shaped seeds. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Indigofera Anil. I. foliis pinnatis oblongis trijugis, racemis folio brevioribus, leguminibus falcatis, caule fraticoso. Linn. Spec. Plant. Willd. 6. p. 123(5. Leaves pinnated, oblong, three pair of leaf- lets together 5 flower-stalk shorter than the leaves ; pod hooked ; stem shrubby. Indigofera foliis pinnatis ; foliolis eliipticis acutiusculis, leguminibus declinatis re- curvis, caule erecto. Mant. 2. p. 2/2. Indigo. . . . Nouv. Diet, d' Hist. Nat. 12. p. 14. pi. E 18. fig. 1. This and the Indigofera tinctoria , to which it is very nearly allied both in appearance and proper- ties, are the two species of this genus which are principally cultivated for their colouring matter. 188 INDIGO. There are several other kinds which produce a fecu- lum of a similar nature with those we have just mentioned ; but none, we believe, are so universally cultivated, or produce an equal quantity ot this va- luable dye. The Iridigofera anil is the species which is gene- rally cultivated in the Antilles and in the other parts of America. It grows naturally in the East In- dies, and is m figure a little, straight, delicate shrub, furnished with slender branches, which, spreading, form a tuft. It grows to the height of two or three feet, sometimes more, especially when it is planted in a congenial soil. The main stem is sometimes divided near the bottom into several lesser ones, and their colour is grayish intermixed with green. From the branches grow a number of leaves situated alternately, and composed of three and sometimes four pair of pinnse, besides an odd leaflet at the end. Like the rest of the leguminous plants, it produces a papilionaceous flower, and a ponded seed-vessel en- closing several seeds. The foliage of this kind of indigo exhales a sweet, penetrating, but rather fiattish smell. The flower- stalks spring from the axils of the leaves, and are furnished with small reddish-violet flowers, of a clear colour, and faint but agreeable >- seeds, resembling little cylinders, are about a line long, and of an obtusely quadrangular figure. The vegetable substance obtained from this plant under the name of indigo, is of a blue colour, and of a hard, brittle, and friable texture ; it is chiefly INDIGO. I89 used by dyers, and painters in water colours. In- digo was formerly considered, in Europe, as a kind of Indian stone; nor was its natural history well known, till after the discovery of America, and that the conquest of part of India had introduced the plant to our notice. Nevertheless, long before this period, it is pretty certain that the inhabitants of Arabia and of Egypt were acquainted with the se- cret of making indigo, but they carefully concealed the process from other nations. Burchard, in the Description cle File de Malta , published in l6Go, speaks of an indigo manufactory established in that island. He says that they grow a species of glas- tum , called by the Spaniards anil , and by the Arabs obtain cr The plant is very tender the first yea^'* and the feculum which it yields is of a reddish colour, form- ing an imperfect kind of paste which sinks in water. This indigo is called nouti or mouti : that which is the produce of the second year they name cyerce or zicirie : this is violet, and floats in water. The in- digo of the third year is of the least value ; it forms a heavy paste of a dull colour, and is known bv the name of cat eld. The manner in which the plant is made to yield this useful product is simple enough. After having cut a quantity of the shrub, the people employed for the purpose sink it in a cistern of water, where it is suffered to macerate for several days. When the water appears to be sufficiently impregnated and Maltese ennir , from which they INDIGO. 190 with colouring matter, they draw it into another cistern, where it is well stirred with sticks ; after which they suffer the water to run gently off, and the feculum that remains is spread on cloths and exposed to the sun. When it has remained long enough to acquire some consistence, it is formed into balls and tablets, and dried on the sand. Different species of indigo plants grow sponta- neously on the coast of Guinea. According to Wadstrorn, they are more cultivated in that part of the world than even rice or millet. Several dyers, who have tried the African indigo, are of opinion that it is better than what comes from either the East Indies or Carolina. It is doubtful, however, if this is the case, at least with respect to the In- dian, since the African negroes, notwithstanding the congenial nature of their climate, are not so ex- pert at the manufactory of this substance as those of our islands. In Dahomy, a country situated in the interior of Guinea, and where the indigo plant is extremely common, the natives never trouble them- selves to extract its colouring dye. In Senegal the negroes make the indigo from a plant which they call gangue . They strip the leaves from the upper branches, and, pounding them into a fine paste, form them into rolls and dry them in the shade. In Madagascar the islanders prepare their indigo in the same manner. To make the dye, they bruise some of the rolls and put the powder into an earthen pot with water, where it is INDIGO. 191 boiled a certain time. Into this dye, when cool, they dip their silk or cotton, which, when diawn out again, becomes of a fine deep blue. Indigo grows naturally in several parts of Asia, which may truly be called its native country ; and of the several kinds which are produced in this vast quarter of the world, those which grow in Hindostan are reckoned the best. The manner of working this plant is not the same in all parts of Asia, nor do they always manu- facture it alike in the same district. Among the different ways in which this product is obtained we may notice two ; one distinguished by the name of inde, the other of indigo. In the manufactory of inde, they do not infuse the leaves in water alone, but put 111 all the plant, with the exception of the root, as in indigo. The Chinese, when they prepare their indigo, take the stems and the leaves of the green herb, and throw them into a tub filled with a sufficient quantity of water. After having left the plant to macerate for twenty-four hours, they throw out the stem and leaves, and pour into each tub three or four measures called gantang of fine lime, passed through a sieve, which they stir briskly with sticks till they raise a purple foam. After this operation, it is left for a day to rest in the tub, then the water is drawn off, and the substance deposited dried in the sun. To facilitate the desiccation they divide the substance into square cakes, which being well dried, are in a proper state for transportation. 192 INDIGO. The method followed in Agra is this: After the rains in the month of June, and when the indigo is about a yard high, they cut it down, and put the plants into a vessel called a t cinch, full of water. Here they remain for several days until the water has acquired a strong blue colour; then they pass the liquor into another vessel, and stir it with their hands. When the appearance of the froth assures them that the mass has been sufficiently agitated, they pour in a certain portion of oil, so as to cover all the blue matter. After the indigo is fallen to the bottom, they draw off the water, and, collecting the feculum, spread it on cloths which are laid on sandy earth. In this manner the indigo gradually dries ; but while it yet retains some moisture, they mould it with their hands into balls, and complete the process by drying them in a warm place. This blue matter is then in a state fit for sale. In Hindostan they call it noti ; among the Portu- guese, boriga. This indigo only holds a second place in point of quality; that being superior which is collected the year after from the shoots of the plant; this is named tsjerri by the Indians, and cabecci by the Portuguese. The third year they cut the plants again; but then they yield only an indigo of a bad quality, known by the name of snssala. The cabeca is verv blue, and of a fine clear co- four; this substance, which is soft,' and so light as to float on water, exhales with a violet fume, when laid on burning charcoal, and leaves but little ashes. INDIGO. 193 The noti or boriga is of a colour inclining to red, when examined against the sun. The sassala is very hard, and of a dull colour. The indigo plant is cultivated on a large scale in America. In Carolina, in Louisiana, and in Mexico* it is produced in abundance; but no where with more success, or in greater quantities, than in the West Indies. There, in some of our island, as well as those belonging to the French, it is one of the chief objects of commerce. It is attended with little expense, and returns a large profit, though less than that produced from the sugar plantation. The plant, as we have before observed, is tender* and very sensible of sudden alterations in the tem- perature of the air. This makes the chance of suc- cess more hazardous than in either the cotton or the coffee plantation* since a cutting wind may de^ stroy in an hour what the planter has laboured for months to bring to perfection. Continued rains* without the proper means being contrived for the water to drain off ; scorching winds that dry up the trunk ; and, above all, a host of insects that feed Upon the leaves, are amongst the catalogue of cala- mities to which the indigo is subject before it ar- rives at maturity. These obstacles, however, though they occur but too frequently, and certainly exercise the patience of the planter, do not seem to operate against the general cultivation of the vegetable. The harvest is always looked forward to as a reward for the losses which occur in raising the plants ; and VOL. III. o INDIGO. 194 when it arrives, the cultivator is frequently repaid by an abundant crop for all his trouble. The proper time for sowing the seeds of the in- digo plant varies according to the situation of the place and the season of the year. In the Hat part of the Cape they begin the most essential operation in November or December, in the time ol the norths. In this part of the colony they give this appellation to the rains which fall at that season, and which come from that point of the horizon. These rains are soft and fine, resembling those which refresh our lands in the month of May, and their coming is announced to the cultivator by several in- fallible signs. They prepare the land for the re- ception of the seed, and the manner in which the natives proceed to this part of the business is as fol- lows : The majority of the negroes employed for this purpose arrange themselves in a row; and being provided with hoes, they together make shallow holes in the ground, for each of which one blow with the hoe is sufficient; after the first blow is struck, they move backwards and repeat the opera- tion, going alternately from right to left and from left to right. Whilst this is about, others placed before them sow the grain with their hands, put- ting, at a guess, about eight or ten seeds into each hole. This part of the employment falls to the share of the old and feeble negroes of both sexes. A third party follow these, and cover the seeds INDIGO. 19^ either with a rake, or with a broom made on pur- pose. The distance between each hole is generally about six or seven inches. When the seed is in good condition, and the rains favourable, the plants commonly make their appearance above-ground in three or four days, after which they are carefully weeded every fifteen or twenty days, till the indigo is high enough to shade the ground beneath it, and prevent the noxious plants from rising to its preju- dice. The negroes weed the indigo with a kind of sickle, cutting off all those that are calculated to prove injurious to the young crop. In two or three months, if every thing goes on in a favourable man- ner, the plants will have arrived at maturity, and be fit to cut for the purpose of making indigo. NEPENTHES. GYNANDRIA TETRANDRIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx divided into four roundish leaves. Corolla none. Seed-vessel oblong, truncated, divided into four chambers by as many valves, and containing a considerable num- ber of sharp-pointed seeds. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Nepenthes distillatoria. Spec. Plant. Linn. 3ded. p. 1354. Bandara zeylanica, inextremo foliorum folliculum penicillifor- mem expansum habens. Burm. Zeyl. 42. t. 17. With an expanded little bag of a long shape at the end of each leaf. Urticaria vegetabilis zeylanen- sium. Pink. Planta mirabilis distillatoria. Grim. E. N. C. An. 1 . Dec. 2. p. 363. f. 363. Nepenthes. ..... Pluk. Alm.3Q4. 23/. f. 3. Rumph. Ami. 5. p. 121. t. 59. f. 2. The nepenthes may justly be classed among the most singular productions of the vegetable world. NEPENTHES. 197 The plant has always excited the admiration of those who have examined its structure, with a view to the contrivance which is so strikingly exhibited in the formation of its leaves. The nepenthes is a native of India : it is an herbaceous plant, with thick roots, and a simple stem, crowned with flow- ers disposed in bunches. The leaves are alternate, partly embracing the stem at their base, and termi- nated by tendrils, each of which supports a deep, membranous urn, of an oblong shape, and closed by a little valve like the lid of a box. This appendage to the leaf appears to be as designed and studied a piece of mechanism as any thing we can meet with in Nature’s more complicated productions. The leaf, as we have already said, is terminated by a deep oblong urn; this, in general, is filled with a sweet limpid water. In the morning the lid is closed, but it opens during the heat of the day, and a portion of the water evaporates; this is re- plenished in the night, and each morning the ves- sel is lull, and the lid shut. The plant grows in a climate where the parched traveller is frequently in want of refreshment, and gladly avails himself of the water which this vegetable affords, each urn con- taining about the measure of half a wine glass. The use of this plant is too evident to need any com- ment. It is one of the many instances in nature of the bounty of Providence, who has filled the urns of the nepenthes with a treasure, of all others the most refreshing to the inhabitants of hot cli- mates. 198 NEPENTHES. Whatever is sufficiently singular to raise our ad- miration, frequently becomes the object of super- stition: this is the case with the nepenthes among the inhabitants of Madagascar, who believe that if they overturn one of these vessels of water no ram will fall on that day. BREAD-FRUIT TREE. MONOECIA MONANDRIA, GENERIC CHARACTER, Male. Flowers in a cylindrical catkin. Calyx none. Corolla of two petals. Female. Flowers without either calyx or corolla : germens, or seed -buds, numerous, and collected in the substance of a tleshy globe. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Artocarpus incisa. A.foliis pinnatifido-sinuatis scabris subtus pubescentibus, amentis masculis cer- nuis, Linn. Spec. Plant. Willd. 4. p. 1 88. no. 1. Leaves deeply gashed, rough, downy be- neath : male catkins bending down- wards. Rademachia incisa. Tkunl). Act. Holm. * pi. 36. p. 250. So ecus granosus. Rumph. Ami. 1. p. 112. pi. 33. Bread-fruit Tree. Sonnerat. Itin. ad Nov. Guin. pi. 5J — 60. We are informed by Dampier that in Guam, one of the Ladrone islands, “ there is a certain fruit 200 BREAD-FRUIT TREE. called the bread-fruit , growing on a tree as big as our large apple-trees, with dark leaves. The fruit is round, and grows on the boughs like apples, of the bigness of a good penny loaf; when ripe it turns yellow, soft, and sweet ; but the natives take it green, and hake it in an oven till the rind is black ; this they scrape olf, and eat the inside, which is soft and vvhite, like the inside of new baked bread, hav- ing neither seed nor stone ; but if it is kept above twenty-four hours it is harsh. As this fruit is in season eight months in the year, the natives feed upon no other sort of bread during that time. They told us that all the Ladrone islands had plenty of it. I never heard of it in any other place.” This is nearly the same description of the plant which lord Anson has given in his Voyage, who found it growing in some of the Philippines as well as the Ladrone islands. Several voyagers have no- ticed the bread-fruit; but till captain Wallis returned from the South Seas, and captain Cook from his voyage round the world, its history was but imper- fectly known- Rumphius describes the tree as an inhabitant of the eastern parts of Sumatra, and tells us that the natives call it soccus , and soccum capas. From the account which our famous circumnavi- gator captain Cook has left behind him, we learn that this fruit not only serves as a substitute for bread among the inhabitants of Otaheite and the neighbouring islands, but also, variously dressed, composes the principal part of their food. It grows on a tree that is about the size of a middling oak ; BREAD-FRUIT TREE. 201 its leaves are frequently a foot and a half long, of an oblong shape, deeply sinuated like those of the fig- tree, which they resemble in colour and consistence, and in the exsuding of a milky juice upon being broken. The fruit is about the size and shape of a new-born child’s head ; and the surface is reticu- lated, not much unlike a truffle: it is covered with a thin skin, and has a core about as big as the handle of a small knife. The eatable part lies between the skin and the core ; it is as white as snow, and some- what of the consistence of new bread : it must be roasted before it is eaten, being first divided into three or four parts ; its taste is insipid, with a slight sweetness somewhat resembling that of the crumb of wheaten bread mixed with a Jerusalem artichoke. This fruit is also cooked in a kind of oven, which renders it soft, and something like a boiled potatoe ; not quite so farinaceous as a good one, but more so than those of the middling sort. Of the bread-fruit they also make three dishes, by putting either water or the milk of the cocoa-nut to it, then beating if to a paste with a stone pestle, and afterwards mix- ing it with plantains, bananas, or the sour paste which they call mcihie. The mahie, which is like- wise made to serve as a succedaneum for ripe bread-fruit before the season comes on, is thus made: The fruit of the bread-tree is gathered just before it is perfectly ripe, and being laid on heaps is closely covered with leaves : in this state it under- goes a fermentation, and becomes disagreeably sweet; the core is then taken out entire, which is done by 202 BREAD-FRUIT TREE. gently pulling out the stalk, and the rest of the fruit is thrown into a hole which is dug for that purpose, generally in the houses, and neatly lined on the bottom and sides with grass : the whole is then covered with leaves, and heavy stones laid upon them ; in this state it undergoes a second fer- mentation, and becomes sour, after which it will suffer no change for many months. It is taken out of the hole as it is wanted for use ; and being made into halls it is wrapped up in leaves and baked: after it is dressed, it will keep five or six weeks. It is eaten both cold and hot ; and the natives seldom make a meal without it, though to Europeans it is full as disagreeable as a pickled olive when first tasted. The fruit itself is in season eight months in the year, and the mahie supplies the inhabitants during the other four. This food is readily procured by the inhabitants of the islands where it abounds; the soil is naturally calculated to promote its growth, and all the trouble of gathering the bread consists in climbing the tree. PAPER MULBERRY. MONOECIA TETRANDRIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Male, Calyx divided into four parts. Corolla none. Female. Calyx of four roundish, obtuse divisions. Corolla none. The calyx, after the fecundation of the flower, be- comes a little fleshy succulent berry, contain- ing a single seed. Several of these berries uniting form the fruit, SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Morus papyrifera. M. foliis palmatis, fructibus hispidis. Linn. Spec. Plant. 3d ed. p. 1399. no. 3. Leaves palmated, fruit hairy. Morus sativa, foliis urticae mortuae cor- tice papyrifera. Kcempf. Amoen. 47 1. pi. 4/2. Morus papyrifera sativa japonica. Seb. Thes. 1. p. 44 pi. 28. f. 3. Paper Mulberry. . pjouv. Diet, d' Hist. Nat. 3. p. 498. pi. A 27. f. 3. Lamarck has taken this tree from its original situ- ation in the Linnaean system, and formed it into 204 PAPER MULBERRY. a separate genus by the name of papyrius , of which this is the only species. It grows naturally in China and Japan, in which last place it is care- fully cultivated by the inhabitants upon their hills and mountains. The Japanese find this tree of singular service to them : when the winter ap- proaches they cut the young buds and take oil the bark, which, after undergoing different preparations, is manufactured into paper. This plant, according to Kaempfer, is commonly known by the name of the paper mulberry of Asia, and the manner in which the Japanese proceed to extract their paper from it is as follows : Before the leaves fall, they cut the shoots of that year, and afterwards divide them into slips of about three feet each, which are tied in several bundles, in order either to be boiled, or spread on hot ashes. These bundles are placed upright in a large and deep copper closely shut down. The boiling is continued till the bark has shrunk from the wood and left it naked for the space of half an inch ; then they take out the shoots and suffer them to cool, making a longitudinal incision in each so as to re- move the bark. This, when dry, is carefully laid by, to be finally made into paper whenever it may be convenient. To accomplish this purpose, they cleanse the bark in water, where it lies for three or four hours ; after which they scrape off its brown skin, to clear it from the first green surface of the wood. At the same time, the strongest bark of the year is sepa- PAPER MULBERRY* 205 rated from the thinnest which covered the younger shoots ; for this bark makes the whitest and best paper, while that which is manufactured from the other is neither of so good a colour nor of so strong a texture. Bark which has been kept for some years is only fit to make a paper of the worst qua- lity, which is referred to the class of stained or de- fective goods. When the bark is well cleaned, and arranged in order according to its quality, they boil it in a ley which has been previously passed through a filter. When this begins to boil, they stir it continually with a strong reed, and as soon as the matter sepa- rates into a kind of wadding or filamentous substance, the boiling ought to be stopped. The boiling is succeeded by another operation, called washing, and this is said to be of singular importance in the manufacturing of the paper. If it is not continued long enough, the paper will be strong, but of a bad quality ; if, on the contrary, the washing is carried to an improper length, the paper will indeed be very white, but at the same time it will be soft, greasy, and unfit to write upon. It is therefore necessary to know exactly how to conduct this part of the process ; and the manner in which it is managed is nearly as follows : They put the substance to be washed into a basket which will admit the water on all sides : this they plunge into a river, and stir it about with violence till the matter contained within the basket is re- duced to the form of tow or wool. The substance 206 PAPER MULBERRY. which is intended for the finer sort of paper they enclose in a linen cloth, in which it is washed like the other, but rather more softened by a further operation. The matter being sufficiently washed is deposited on a thick, well polished table, where it is well beat with hard wooden rollers, until it becomes a pulp like a paste made of flour and water. After the beating is concluded, they put the pulp into a straight tub, and pour upon it a quantity of an infusion of rice, or else a mucous infusion of the root orem. This melange is carefully stirred with a thin reed, until the liquor becomes of a pro- per consistence, when it is drawn off into a more capacious tub : from this vessel the substance is finally raised leaf after leaf, in the form of paper ; and it should be noticed that the prototype is not made of copper wire, but of rush. The leaves of paper thus prepared are laid in a heap on a table : between the edges of each leaf they place a thin piece of rush, forming a little eminence, by means of which the leaves are distin- guished from each other, and can be at any time, if necessary, removed separately. Every heap is covered by a little board adapted to the form and size of the leaves, on which is placed a light weight, that the leaves, which are very moist at first, may not be pressed into one mass. The weight, how- ever, is afterwards increased till all the moisture is insensibly pressed from them. In about two days they remove the weights, and those leaves which are yet moist are dried in the sun. PAPER MULBERRY. 20 7 The whole of the business is finished by taking the different heaps and marking the borders, after which the leaves are pressed and sold. It appears that the infusion of rice is highly ne- cessary in the manufactory of the Japan paper, to give it the proper consistence and whiteness. 1 he rice of the country is particularly adapted for the purpose, as it is whiter and more mucilaginous than that of any other part of Asia. The male flowers of the paper mulberry grow in cylindrical catkins, while those in the female, by their reunion, assume a globular form. Each little flowrer that contributes to form the globe is situated close to its neighbour, being divided from it only by a scale ; and every one has its proper calyx, formed of a small tube with four teeth : in the centre is placed the germ ; it has a lateral and very long style terminated by a simple stigma. This tree resembles the mulberry, not onlv in its figure, but in several useful properties which are common to both trees. Olivier de Serre ob- served, that the interior bark of the mulberry, ma- cerated a certain time, yielded a silky matter, from which silk might be manufactured. M. de La- rouviere, some time afterwards, extracted a vegetable silk from the young branches of the Japanese plant, after they had been soaked and beaten. This ex- periment proves, that the leaves of this plant, like those of the common mulberry, might be used to feed silk-worms. There exists another interesting analogy between the two plants, which was first noticed by 208 PAPER MULBERRY. Faujas. That naturalist, having attentively con- sidered the process by which the Japanese con- verted this vegetable into paper, conceived the pos- sibility of manufacturing a similar substance from our European mulberry *. this experiment he actu- ally put in practice, and completely succeeded ; forming a paper from it without even rejecting the exterior bark. s>*)H 4 Published by Mafr™ laded Davies J. widen rMai rh i /fipj ; i COC :;,VN, " ' '• j J.Vr on •-» . . ■ • . ; M--o, ' - ,/xxx tiuee le ves. ; v:!‘' ( :>i tv ■ . i . s itovr. i A, • nit. * -in * 0,, £ ' < : • . r-r . 1 *’ ilsA S/:iK - a ■ pi V •• . ' ’ •* ■* • a . • ! ! • ; Wk. 0 .. . • .. ■ ^ «•*» . « tj i t K >ui* C* .. A J i- 4 f? ’ Coe* » ’Sift -Cat. • - ■ ■ • • . ’ ■ T*i>S orcc a i \ni"\ ;• . ' mik VOl m 4 COCOA-NUT TREE. MONOECIA HEXANDRIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Male. Calyx of three leaves. Corolla of three petals. Female. Calyx of two leaves. Corolla of six petals. Seed-vessel a fibrous husk, containing a large oval nut. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Cocos nucifera. C. inermis, frondibus pinnatis, foliolis repli- catis ensiformibus. Linn. Spec. Plant. IVilld. 4. p. 400. Without thorns or prickles, leaf-stalk pin- nated, leaves sword-shaped and bending back. Coccus frondibus pinnatis, foliolis ensiformi- bus margine villosis. Hort. Cliff. 483, Palma indica coccifera angulosa. Bauh. Pin. 502. Ca lappa. Humph. Amh. 1. p. 1. pi. 1, 2. Tenga. Rhced. Mai. 1. p. l. pi. 1 — 4. Cocoa-Nut Tree. Jacq. Amer. 2/7. t. 169. Roxb. Corom. 1. p. 52. pi. 73. This tree is an inhabitant of India, Africa, and America : its trunk, which grows to the height of vol. hi. p 210 COCOA-NUT TREE. sixty feet, is crowned with a bunch of ten or twelve leaves, each leaf being from ten to fifteen feet long, and composed of a double range of flag- shaped leaflets. From the centre of these leaves rises a straight, pointed, tender bud, which the na- tives call chou , and which is reckoned a delicacy. At the lower part of the bunch of leaves, and close to the stem, may be seen a great, oval, and pointed sheath, from whence issues a panicle charged with yellow flowers, which in due time produces the well- known fruit. It is hardly necessary to say that this, in its husk, is about the size of a man’s head, and that it contains a clear, white, and firm nut, which is very indigestible, and has but little taste: it con-' tains a useful oil, however, which the natives extract and apply to several purposes. When the nut is half ripe it contains a considerable quantity of clear water, which is better known by the name of milk. This has a very pleasant smell, and a most agreeable taste. In a country where the heat of the sun is intense, and the ground frequently parched for want of moisture, the milk of this nut proves, from its coolness, a delightful and refresh- ing beverage. The cocoa-nut tree is of slow growth ; but to compensate for this it lives long, and regularly pro- duces fruit three or four times a year. W hen the extremity of the young and tender sheath is cut oflf, there distills from the wound a sweet white liquor, of a very pleasant flavour, which the natives call COCOA-NUT TREE. 211 toddy. Mr. Percival tells us, that in the island of Ceylon they procure this luxury by making a slit over-night, with a knife, in the top of the tree where the leaves shoot up ; and that they hang a chatty or earthen pot from the branches, so as to receive the juice, which immediately begins to distill, and continues to do so till next morning, when the pot is removed. This liquor makes a wholesome and cooling drink while it continues fresh ; but this is not long, as it contains a quantity of sugar, and of course in the warm climate of Ceylon it soon fer- ments. In the course of twenty-four hours it be- comes acid, and after a time proves intoxicating. This circumstance, however, does not lessen its va- lue in the eyes of the inhabitants, who are then en- abled to distill from it a spirit, which is said to be used by our English soldiers when they cannot pro- cure arrack. The manner in which the inhabitants reach the tops of the cocoa trees, for the purpose of procuring the toddy , is thus described by Mr. Percival: “ It is surprising to see with what dexterity the natives climb those high, straight, and slender trees. They have many ways of facilitating their ascent. Some- times they tie pieces of the long leaf, twisted to- gether with ropes of hay, around the body of the tree, leaving the distance of about two feet between each piece, and thus forming for themselves a sort of ladder. Frequently they embrace the tree with p 2 212 COCOA-NUT TREE. their feet, and then tie both together by a rope passing round the ancles ; at the same time they clasp the tree with their hands, and thus ascend, resting alternately on their ancles and their arms. Having gained the top of one tree, their agility and dexterity prevent them from having to renew their toil. By means of the adjoining branches, and some ropes fastened at different places for the purpose, they contrive to pass from one tree to an- other. I have seen them in this manner collect the toddy from a whole grove of cocoa trees with- out once descending ; and their feats of agility on these occasions equalled any thing 1 have seen the most dexterous of our sailors perform among the rigging of a ship, and was scarcely outdone by the monkeys, the native inhabitants of these groves.” The different parts of the cocoa tree are applied to various purposes. The light porous substance which grows amongst the branches is manufactured into a kind of coarse cloth, which serves to wrap up goods and to make rice-bags. I he outer rind of the nut is made into ropes of different de- scriptions, and into cables and cordage for their vessels: in short, wherever tow or hemp is used, this rind may be employed to advantage, and it has one quality which is even superior, it does not rot so soon. The branches, cut down, are formed into posts and rafters for the huts of the natives, while the leaves are employed to cover the roofs and repel the rain: these last are likewise made into COCOA-NUT TREE. 1213 mats, into baskets, and into other useful domestic utensils. There is no part of this tree useless to mankind; and in those districts where they are careful to preserve it, the inhabitants refrain from cutting the chou , which, though a great delicacy, must be left entire, or the tree will infallibly suffer from the injury. CORK TREE. MONOECIA POLYANDRIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Mule. Calyx of five divisions ; segments acute and often cloven. Corolla none. Female. Calyx hemispherical; formed of numerous im- bricated scales. Seed-vessel none. Seed an egg-shaped nut, seated in an hemispherical cup. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Quercus Suber. Q. foliis ovato-oblongis, indivisis, subtus to- mentosis j cortice rimoso fungoso. Linn. Spec. Plant. IVilld. 4. p. 433. Leaves oval-oblong, entire, and a little downy beneath j bark of a spongy nature and full of clefts. Suber latifolium sempervirens. Bauh. Pin. 424. CorkTree. . . Duhamel, Traite des Arlres, 2. p. 29I. pi. 80. Blackw. Herb. pi. 193. This tree, which in its fructification exactly resem- bles the oak, and which is in fact a species of the same genus, is so sensible of cold, that Duhamel as- sures us it cannot bear the frosts of the northern CORK TREE. 215 provinces of France. According to this excellent French author, the cork tree is neither to be found in Sweden nor in Denmark, but flourishes abun- dantly in the warmer parts of France, near Con- dom, Nerac, and Bazas, as well as in Spain, in Italy, in Provence, and in Languedoc. In the hard winter of 1709, most of the cork trees were de- stroyed throughout these provinces; but the damage was in time repaired, and they at length became as numerous as before. The various uses to which the bark of this tree is applied, are too well known to need enumerating. The acorns, which have a sweetish taste, not only serve to feed hogs and poultry, but are likewise useful to mankind ; who, in the time of scarcity, have availed themselves of their aid. It is said that the Spaniards eat them roasted like chestnuts. With respect to the manner of obtaining the cork from this tree, we have the following account from M. Duhamel : When the trees have attained the age of twelve or fifteen years, they remove the bark for the first time; but the cork at this barking is only fit to burn. Seven or eight years after it is again re- moved, but yet it is far from being of a good quality, and is only used for buoys and other common pur- poses. This operation is repeated when the trees are about thirty years old, and then the bark is found to be of a superior nature, and fit for all the purposes to which cork is applied. It should be re- marked, that the best bark is obtained from the old- 216 CORK TREE. est trees, and that the removal of this substance is far from proving injurious to the plant, since a cork tree which is barked every eight, nine, or ten years, will live for a century and a half, and sometimes longer. In July and August the persons employed upon the cork trees begin their operations, lhe chief instrument that they use for the purpose of raising the bark, is a small hatchet, with a handle termi- nating in a wedge. With this instrument they slit the bark from the top of the tree to the bottom, and then make a circular incision at the two ends of the slit ; after this is done the bark is well beaten with the back of the hatchet, in order to loosen it from the tree; and it is then raised by introducing under it the wedge-shaped handle, till the whole piece by degrees is detached from the wood. In this part of the business the people are careful not to damage the fine skin that adheres to the body of the tree, lest they should be deprived of a future harvest ; for when this is removed, the cork ceases to grow again until it is re-established, and that does not happen for several years. The cork is cut into pieces of four or five feet in length, and afterwards scraped to render its surface even. The pieces are then placed over burning coals in order to blacken them ; and it is said that this operation at the same time closes the pores, and improves the quality of the cork. Duhamel ob- serves, that all the pieces are washed, and then placed one upon the other, and leaded either with CORKTREE. 217 pieces of wood, or heavy stones, on purpose to flatten them. Cork is sometimes prepared without burning, and in this case it is merely soaked in water to straighten it. But this preparation, which is called white cork, is hy no means so much esteemed as the black. Good cork ought to be supple, elastic, neither ligne- ous nor porous, and of a reddish colour. That which inclines to a yellow tint is not of so good a quality, but the white is by far the worst of any. The cork, when burnt in close vessels, yields a black powder, called noir d’ Espagne, which is em- ployed in the arts. FIR TREE. MONOECIA MONADELPHIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Male. Calyx of four scales. Corolla none. Female. Calyx. Cone somewhat egg-shaped, and com- posed of scales with two flowers in each. Corolla none. Seed-vessel none* Seed enclosed w ithin the scales of the cone. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Pinus s ylvestr is. P. foliis geminis rigidis, conis ovato-conicis, longitudine foliorum subgeminis basi ro- tundatis. Linn. Spec. Plant. IVilld. 4. p. 494. no. 1. Leaves rigid and in pairs ; cones the length of the leaves, frequently growing two to- gether} of an ovate-conical shape, and roundish at the base. P. foliis geminis rigidis, strobilis junioribus pedunculatis recurvatis dependentibus, antherarum crista exigua. Laml.Monog. a Pinus rubra. Mill. Dirt. no. 3. /S Pinus tartarica. Mill. Diet. no. 4. FIR TREE. 219 Scotch Fir. . . Duhamel,Traite des Arbres, 2. p.lo3. pi. 30. Evelyns Sylva, by Hunter , 1. p. 274. Blackiv. Herb. t. 190. This tree is one of an extensive genus, well known for the great utility of its timber, as well as for the resinous substances which it affords. The different species for the most part grow to a considerable height, and are distributed over Europe, Asia, and America. Of the several kinds of pine found in the different parts of the wrorld, that which we have chosen may be considered as one of the most useful. The Scotch fir, or wild pine, grows naturally in the Highlands, where the trees propagate therm selves, by the seeds which fall from their cones, without any care. It must not be understood, however, that this tree is confined to the Highlands because it has obtained, with us, the name of Scotch fir, since it is common in other countries, and from thence is likewise called the Russian pine, and the pine of Geneva. Large forests of this fir are found in Germany, and vast numbers of the species are scattered over the Alps, the Pyrenees, the moun- tains of Auvergne, and different parts of Switzer- land. In both European and Asiatic Russia this tree abounds ; we likewise meet with it in Lithu- ania, in Poland, and particularly in Norway, where hundreds of mills, turned by water, are erected to saw its timber into planks. Mr. Coxe has noticed this circumstance in his Northern Tour; in which he tells us that there are 136 privileged saw-mills at Christiania, and that in the environs of that city the 220 FIR TREE. planks and deals are superior to those sent from America, Russia, and from the different parts of the Baltic, because the trees grow on the rocks, and are therefore firmer, more compact, and less liable to rot than the others, which chiefly shoot from a sandy or loamy soil. The timber of this kind of fir, which we call deal, is either red, yellow, or white, but generally the latter ; and we are assured by Pallas, that it is from the Scotch fir that we obtain the best masts for our navy. The people employed for this pur- pose are careful to choose those trees which are re- markable for the beauty and height of their stems, and the yellowness of their bark. It is not in the midst of the forest, but on the skirts, that the finest trees are found, and these are commonly observed to grow in a coarse and rather moist sand. The best masts are said to come from Riga; and we learn from Mr. Coxe, that the trade carried on there, in this article in particular, is very beneficial to the town. “ The burghers of Riga,” says this gentle- man, ec send persons who are mast-brokers, into the Russian provinces, to mark the trees, which are purchased standing. They grow mostly on the districts which border on the Dnieper, are sent up that river to a landing-place, transported thirty versts to the Duna, are then formed into floats of from fifty to two hundred pieces, and descend the stream to Riga. The tree which produces the largest masts is the Scotch fir. Those pieces which are from eighteen to twenty-five inches in diameter, FIR TREE. 221 are called masts ; under those dimensions spars , or, in England, Norway masts ; because Norway ex- ports no trees more than eighteen inches in diame- ter. The English merchants, who contract with government, buy the masts from the burghers of Riga; and great skill is required in distinguishing those that are sound throughout, from those which are in the least internally decayed. They are usually from seventy to eighty feet in length.” It is not from the Pinus sylvestris alone that good masts are obtained, since the Weymouth pine ( Pinus Slrobus Linn.) is almost as famous for this sort of merchandize. Large and extensive woods of these trees are to he found in America, between the forty-second and forty-fifth degree of northern latitude, where some of them are said to grow to the height of two hundred feet. They are occasionally found of a very large size ; one of them, mentioned by Dr. Douglas as growing on the banks of the river Merimac in the year 1 706, being seven feet eight inches in diameter at the lower end. The wood of this pine was considered of such utility, that a law was made in the ninth year of Oueen Anne, to preserve the timber, and to encourage the growth of the trees in America. Among the useful species of this genus may like- wise be mentioned the larch, ( Pinus Larix Linn.) which is a native of the Alps and Appenine moun- tains, but now become very common in this coun- try. In Switzerland the inhabitants are said to cover the roofs of their houses with shingles made 222 fir tree. of larch. These are generally cut about a foot square, and half an inch in thickness, which they nail to the rafter. At first the roof appears white, but in two or three years it becomes of a jet black, and all the joints are stopped by the resin which the sun extracts from the pores of the wood. I bus is the roof rendered impenetrable to the wind and rain. From this tree is obtained what we erroneously call Venice turpentine ; and it has been remarked, as a singular circumstance, that the inner part of the wood yields a pure gum, scarcely inferior to gum arabic. From Dr. Hunter’s notes on the larch, we learn that the turpentine flows, at first, without in- cision, and that when it has done diopping, the poor people, who wait in the fir woods, make in- cisions, at about two or three feet from the ground, into the trunk of the trees, and into these incisions they fix narrow troughs, about twenty inches long. The end of each trough is hollowed like a ladle ; and in the middle is a small hole, for the turpen- tine to run into a receiver, which is placed below it. As the balsam runs from the tree, it passes along the sloping gutter, or trough, to the ladle, and from thence runs through the hole into the receiver. people who gather it visit the trees morning and evening, from the end of May to September, to collect the turpentine out of the receiveis. When it flows out of the tree, the turpentine is clear, like water, and of a yellowish white ; hut as it glows older it thickens, and becomes of a citron colour. FIR TREE. 223 It is produced in the greatest abundance in the neighbourhood of Lyons in f ranee, and in the val- ley of St. Martin, near Lucern, in Switzerland. Great quantities of common turpentine are col- lected from the different kinds of fir, and particu- larly, we believe, from the spruce fir, (Pinus Abies Linn.) from which the Burgundy pitch is prepared. M. Duhamel describes the manner in which the turpentine is collected on the continent ; and tells us, that every year, about the month of August, the Italian country-men, in the neighbourhood of the Alps, penetrate into the Swiss cantons where the firs abound, in order to obtain this useful com- modity. Each person, before he sets out on his journey, provides himself with a horn of tin terminating in a sharp point, and a bottle of the same metal, which he fastens to his girdle. These people, from the nature of their employment, and the mountainous country they have to explore, obtain a facility in climbing which nothing but practice could enable them to accomplish. They will mount in a very short time, to the tops of the highest firs, by means of cramp irons fixed to their shoes, which pierce the bark of the trees, while they embrace the trunk with their knees and one hand, the other being employed to carry the horn. The turpen- tine distills from little bladders, or tumours, which are found on the bark of these trees, and which the people burst with the sharp end of their horn. Into this vessel they collect the turpentine as it 224 FIR TREE. runs from the wound, and when the horn is full they empty it into the bottle which hangs to their girdle, and the contents of these bottles are again poured into others of larger dimensions made of goat skin, in which the turpentine is afterwards re- moved to the place of sale. It is singular that the tumours which are found under the bark, when they occur of an oval figure, have their longest diameter always horizontal, and never perpen- dicular. The different species of this genus produce abun- dance of pitch, resin, and tar. For the manner in which each of these products is obtained we must again apply to M. Duhamel, who has given an ex- cellent description of the process, chiefly from the remarks of M. Gaultier. Neither all kinds of pines, nor all pines of the same species, produce an equal quantity of re- sinous juice. It is well known that some pines will yield three pints in one summer, while others will not afford half a gallon during the whole time they last. Tiffs difference does not seem to de- pend on the size, or on the age of the tree, or en- tirely on the nature of the soil, since it may be ob- served in the same forest; but in general it has been remarked, that trees with the thickest bark, and which have been most exposed to the heat of the sun, yield the greatest quantity. The persons who are employed to collect the resin, usually choose such trees as are about four or five feet in circumference. At the foot of the tree FIR THEE. 225 they make a hole in the ground, eight or nine inches deep, which will contain nearly a quart ot juice, and the earth is previously beat in order to render it less permeable ; nevertheless a quantity of the juice will ooze through the new-made pits, and continue to do so till the resin, mixing with the earth, at length forms a mass sufficiently compact to resist any further transudation. It may be ob- served in this place, that in some countries they make a deep gash in the substance of the tree, near the ground, from which they collect a much purer resin than in the common way ; but as this custom proves very injurious to the trees, they prefer the use of pits. Notwithstanding all the care which is generally paid to cleaning the soil contiguous to the pits, sand, leaves, and fragments of bark, will inevitably collect in the latter, and render a filtering process afterwards necessary. When the pits have been properly prepared at the foot of the trees, and a little time before they make the incisions (which is towards the end of May), they strip off about six inches of the bark down to the liber. This pre- caution, it seems, is highly necessary, that the edge of the instrument employed to make the incisions may not he injured ; for if any splinters or fila- ments should be left in the wounds, the course of the juice to the pits would be impeded : besides, in taking off the outer bark it is scarcely possible to prevent fragments from hilling down, and mixing VOL. hi. u 226* FIR TREE. with the juice, if any should have been collected in the pits. The incision is made with a sharp adze, and the first wound is made near the foot of the tree, about four inches square, and an inch deep. From this there immediately oozes a resinous juice, which proceeds from between the bark and the liber , in the form of very transparent tears. In- cisions are occasionally made from the end of May till September; and most juice is observed to be col- lected in the hottest time of the year. To facili- tate the discharge of the sap, they enlarge the in- cisions every four or five days, and each time take off a thin slice of the wood, by which means an incision which, at the beginning of the season, was not more than four or five inches in diameter, will, by September, be increased to the size of a foot and a half, and to the depth of two or three inches. In the following year the same operation is re- peated, another wound being made in a similar manner ; and thus they annually continue to col- lect the resin for twelve or fifteen years, each suc- ceeding wound being higher than the former, and about a foot distant from the other. When the pits are full the resinous juice is re- moved with iron or wooden ladles, and poured into buckets in order to be carried to a large trough, hol- lowed in the trunk of a pine, and capable of hold- ing three or four barrels. When a sufficient quan- tity of resinous juice has been collected, it is reduced to the state of rosin ; but before we explain this FIR TREE. 22/ process, it may be necessary to observe, that the juice employed for this purpose is not so fluid, so transparent, or so fine in other respects, as that drawn from the larch and some particular kinds of fir. An essential oil is likewise drawn from it by distillation, which is known in Provence by the name of esprit-de-rci%e ; but it is very inferior to the best spirit of turpentine. The juice is reduced to a solid state in a copper containing about a hogshead, which is placed in a furnace built on purpose. In this the liquor is boiled for five or six hours, during which time it is continually stirred with a great wooden spatula, to prevent what settles at the bottom of the copper from burning. We are assured, if this precaution is neglected, the whole mass is liable to take fire ; and when this happens, it is no easy matter to ex- tinguish it. While the juice is boiling, they oc- casionally pour a small quantity on a slip of wood to try its consistence ; and when they find that on cooling it crumbles between the fingers, they con- sider it as sufficiently reduced, and accordingly re- move it from the copper. To accomplish this end, they place a trough supported on trestles close to the boiler, and strain the resin into it, through straw, that it may be purified from the filth and dirt with which it is always loaded notwithstanding every precaution is generally taken to keep the juice as clean as possible. When the mass begins to cool, but before it congeals, the people conduct it from 225 FIR TREE. the trough into barrels, where it becomes a hard, brown, and shining substance, known by the name of colophony or rosin , and used for many purposes. When the resinous juice of the pine, thickened by boiling in the manner we have just described, is poured into a vessel containing a certain portion of cold water, and stirred briskly before it congeals, the substance changes from a brown to a fine yellow colour, and, in this state, is called yellow resin. Tar is chiefly obtained from old pines by burn- ing them in a close smothering heat. Great quan- tities of this unctuous substance are prepared in the different countries where fir trees abound, particu- larly in Norway, Sweden, Russia, Germany, and North America. For the purpose of extracting this useful material, a furnace is constructed in the form of an egg, and capable of holding a considerable quantity of wood. The furnace is not always built of the same size ; but is generally adapted to the quantity of wood intended to be burnt at a time. In Le Vallais, where abundance of tar is prepared, the largest furnace that the country-people erect is about ten feet high, and five or six in diameter near the middle. The cavity is filled with billets of wood cut of a proper length, and placed in rows one upon the other. The upper layer is covered with turf, well pressed down, leaving only one place open for the purpose of introducing the fire to kindle the wood. When the billets are com- pletely a-liglit, the tar begins to ooze from them, FIR TREE. 22f) and, running to the bottom of the furnace, is car- ried from thence, through a pipe in the side, into a vessel placed on purpose to catch it. By this sim- ple process all our tar is prepared, and may be said to consist merely of the resinous juice of the fir, blackened by the smoke to which it is exposed in its passage through the furnace. After all the tar is run off, the apertures of the furnace are carefully closed, and the whole left in this state for some days; after which it is opened, and the charcoal taken out. Pitch is nothing more than tar reduced by evapo- ration, till it becomes a solid and tenacious mass. Having thus described the manner in which these trees are made to yield their most valuable products, we shall conclude the article with a short account of the nourishment which some of the hardy northern people derive from them. We al- lude to the bark-bread, which Dr. Maton has no- ticed in his valuable additions to Mr. Lambert’s splendid work on the pine trees. - ; seven feet above the ground, 12± ; twelve feet above the ground, 14 feet 8 inches ; just under the branches, 15 feet 8 inches. It has two principal branches, one of which is bifid a foot and a half above its origin: before it divides, it measures in cir- cumference 12 feet; after its division, one of its forks measures 84 feet, the other 7 feet 10 inches. The other primary branch, at its origin, measures 10 feet; and soon dividing, throws out two secondary ones, each Its age is supposed to be 1 1 6 years.” The few cedars which are said to be still re- maining or} Mount Libanus are preserved with re- 234 CEDAR TREE. ligious strictness. It is recorded, that upon the day of the Transfiguration, the patriarch of the Ma- ronites (Christians inhabiting Mount Libanus), at- tended by a number of bishops, priests, and monks, and followed by five or six thousand of the religious from all parts, repairs to these cedars, and there cele- brates that festival which is called “ The feast of cedars.” It appears that the patriarch officiates pontifically on this solemn occasion ; that his fol- lowers are particularly mindful of the Blessed \ ir- gin on this day, because the Scriptures compare her to the cedars of Lebanon ; and that the same holy father threatens with ecclesiastical censure those who presume to hurt or diminish the cedars still re- maining. The peculiar and pleasant smell which cedar wood exhales is well known to every one ; but this odour is not given the plant merely to gratify our senses; it makes the timber doubly valuable, for some purposes, by rendering it obnoxious to insects, which will neither pierce the wood nor enter a drawer of which it is composed. It is used to wain- scot rooms and make staircases ; and on account of its great durability, is admirably calculated for the use of the ship-builder. Vessels built with this wood will last for a great length of time, and may be used to advantage in the merchant service ; but are not so well calculated for men of war, the wood being very brittle, and, of course, liable to splinter in every direction. Several travellers have noticed the cedars of Le- CEDAR TREE. 235 banon, and mentioned their situation upon the mountains ; but there are few upon whose accounts we can depend. When Rawolf travelled into Tur- key in 1574, he saw twenty-six of these trees upon the mountain ; but could not find any young ones to succeed them. In Maundrelfs time, that is to say, more than a century afterwards, the number was reduced to sixteen ; but later travellers assure us they have seen many of a small size distributed amongst the large ones. As a proof of the size to which these trees occasionally grow in their native soil, one of the largest was measured, and found to be thirty-six feet and a half in circumference, the branches at the same time covering a space of ground equal to a hundred and eleven feet in diame- ter : the stem is divided (about fifteen or twenty feet above the ground) into five branches, each of which is equal in size to a large arbour. According to Pocock, these famous cedars occupy the corner of a valley open to the north-east, and form a wood of about a mile in circumference, composed of trees of all sizes. In the garden of the Museum d’ His toire Naturelle , there is a cedar which was planted by Bernard de Jussieu in 1734; this plant was measured by Des- maret on the twenty-fourth of June 1802, (an in- terval of sixty-eight years) and its circumference, four feet and a half above the ground, was found to be seven feet six inches, consequently its diameter is two feet seven inches four lines : thus this fine tree 236 CEDAR TREE. has increased in thickness about five lines and a half every year. Notwithstanding what has been said respecting the durability of cedar- wood, we have reason to be- lieve that it is not of a lasting nature ; and, from what we can collect, it has probably been mistaken for a species of cypress ; a plant belonging to an- other genus. If it ever possessed the properties re- corded by our ancestors, it must have changed its nature ; for at present the true cedar is considered as a perishable wood, of an inferior quality to good deal. A resinous juice runs naturally from the cedar, which hardens into a transparent inflammable sub- stance, of a yellowish colour. This resin is used by the Egyptians among the ingredients employed in embalming, and likewise to mix with other per- fumes. TALLOW TREE. MONOECIA MONA DELPHI A. GENERIC CHARACTER. Male. Calyx five-toothed. Corolla of five oblong petals. Female. Calyx five leaves. Corolla none. Seed-vessel roundish, three-chambered ; seed oval, large. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Croton sebiferum. C. foliis rhombeo-rotundatis, ulrinque mucronatis, integerrimis glabris. Spec. Plant. Linn. 3d ed. p. 1425. no. 9. Leaves smooth, of a roundish rhomboidal shape, and spiny on both sides. Euonymo aflinis sinnarum, populi nigrae folio tricapsularis, granis nigris candidis- sima substantia obductis, sebifera. Pluk. Amalth. J6. t. 39O. f. 2. Arbor sebifera chinensis. Kiu-yeu. Martin Le Compt. Am. Herb. 3/5. Tallow Tree. . . Pet. Gax. 53. t. 34. f. 3. This extraordinary tree grows naturally in China, where it is met with on the banks of rivulets. It 238 TALLOW TREE. generally arrives at about the height of a pear-tree, resembles the cherry in its trunk and branches, and the black poplar in its foliage : there is this differ- ence, however, in the wax tree ; its leaves, which are of a bright red colour, are not toothed, and have two small glandules seated at the base of each. The fruit is contained in a husk divided into three spherical segments, which open when it is ripe, and discover three white grains, of the size of a small walnut. The tallow tree is actually cultivated in several of the European colonies of both Indies, as well as in the southern parts of Europe. Besides the tallow which the Chinese obtain from this plant, they express a considerable quantity of oil from its seeds, which is principally used in their lamps. In order to obtain this vegetable fat, the people collect the pulp which covers the seeds, and which resembles tallow both in its colour, smell, and con- sistence : this is melted and made into candles, with the addition of a little linseed-oil, to render it softer and sweeter. Another method of extract- ing the tallow, very commonly employed, is to bruise the husks and seeds together ; after which they are boiled in water, and the fat skimmed off as it rises to the surface: this, wdien it is suffered to cool and condense into tallowy is made into can- dles, after being mixed w-ith a certain portion of linseed-oil, and a little wax to give it the necessary consistence. TALLOW TREE. 239 It is said that if the Chinese had the art of purifying this fat in a proper manner, their can- dles would not be inferior to ours ; but as it is, they have a more disagreeable smell, produce a thicker smoke, and give but a very inferior light. SYRINGE TREE. MONOECIA MONADELPHIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Male. Calyx of five divisions. Corolla none. Female. Calyx as in the male. Corolla none. Seed-vessel divided into three cells with one seed in each. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Siphonia Cahuchu. Linn. Spec. Plant. Willd. 4. p. 567 • Jatropa elastica. J. foliis ternatis el* lipticis integerrimis canis longe petiola- tis. Linn. Suppl. 422. Leaves oval, entire, growing threp together at the end of a long stalk. Hevea guianensis. AM. Guian. 2. p. 871. pi. 335. Poa Seringa. Act. Paris. 1751. pi. 20. figura mala. Syringe Tree. . . Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. 4. p. 308. pi. B. 1. f. 4. This tree, which is well known for the valuable elastic resin which is produced from it, grows in the Brasils and in Guinea, 'I his is the only spe- SYRINGE TREE. 241 cies of the genus, and has been mentioned by seve- ral naturalists. Amongst others Aublet has noticed its fruit, and the milky and resinous juice which exudes from its trunk; but Richard, a French bo- tanist, was the first who described the flower, no one before his time having paid any particular at- tention to that part of the plant. Each flower-stalk bears a great number of male flowers, with one soli- tary female placed at the top. Neither the one nor the other have any corolla ; but there is a bell or cup-shaped calyx in the room of it, with five teeth. There are five stamens to each male flower, of which the filaments are united into a little cylin- drical column, much shorter than the calyx, carry- ing their oval anthers a little below the summit of the column. The female flowers have no style, but merely a superior germ, of a globular and conical figure, upon which we find three flat stigmas. The fruit is a capsule consisting of three ligneous husks, each of which enclose two or three white seeds of a pleasant flavour, wrapped up in a thin and brittle coat. This tree is described as very straight and tall. According to Aublet, it grows to the height of fifty or sixty feet. The trunk measures two feet and a half at the base, and the branches, which shoot out from the top, grow in all directions. The leaves are oval, thick, and tough ; growing three together upon the same leaf-stalk, and having both surfaces glazed, but of a different colour, the superior surface VOL. III. R 242 SYRINGE TREE. beino- preen, while the inferior is cinereous. There is a variety of this tree, consisting chiefly in the leaves being smaller, of a more pointed oval, and very thin. The syringe tree, which has long been celebrated for its elastic resin, or caoutchouc, has been de- scribed by M. de la Condamine in a memoir, ac- companied with a figure of the leaves and fruit, in the Recueil de V Accidemie des Sciences for the year 1751, from which we learn that this academician found a considerable number of these trees in the forests of South America, to the north of Quito, where the natives of the country have given them the name of heve. When the tree is wounded, there exudes from the incision a white liquor, like milk, which gradually hardens in the air; of this the inhabitants make their flambeaux, which are about an inch and a half in diameter and two feet lon°\ These flambeaux burn very well without any wick, and give a clear bright light; they exhale, during their consumption, a particular, but not dis- agreeable, smell, and one of them, we are assured, will continue to burn for twelve hours. In the pro- vince of Quito, they prepare their linen and canvass with this resin, so as to make it answer all the pur- poses of our oil -cloth. Along the banks of the river Amazon, where this tree is not uncommon, the natives form the resin into rude figures of fruit, birds, and objects of different kinds. They likewise make their boots of SYRINGE TREE. 243 it, which, being completely water-proof, are highly serviceable to the inhabitants of a country where the rains are heavy, and the plains intersected with rivulets. In the interior of the American conti** nent the inhabitants mould the resin into bottles, to the necks ot which they affix wooden pipes, and thus construct complete syringes ; from whence the Portuguese of the colony of Para have called the tree Poa de xivingci, 1 he wood of this singular vegetable production might be wrought into small masts, as it is both light and straight. We learn from Bom are, that M. de la Borde, who travelled by order of the French government, in 17/2, into the interior of Guinea, discovered this tree growing on the banks of lakes and rivers, i hey are not easily distinguished in the woods, from their tufted branches being intermixed with the sur- rounding foliage ; but nevertheless, they may be detected by the quantity of young plants which are produced from the seeds, and which, after having increased to a certain size, are overshadowed by the forests, and perish for want of room and air. The resinous juice of this tree, according to M. de la Borde, flows at all times of the year; but the rainy season is the most favourable for collecting it ; and this is the time that the Indians choose for the purpose. They begin their operations by wash- ing the foot of the tree to the height of seven or eight feet; then they bind the trunk below the place where they begin to wash, with a cord about the size of the little finger. This serves to support r 2 244 SYRINGE TREE. a layer of moist earth, in which they contrive a trench, and place in it a palm-leaf as a gutter, the end being immediately over a calabash resting on the ground. Having proceeded thus far, and dis- posed all things in order, they cut several gashes in the trunk of the tree, to the height of three feet, and the juice trickling from the wounds into the trench is carried along the palm-leaf, and falls into the calabash prepared for its reception. \V hen the tree ceases to furnish this juice, the Indians proceed to a preparation which they are careful not to dis- close ; this is the manner in which they pour it upon the clay moulds, made on purpose, where it acquires that consistence and form which render it so applicable to the different purposes for which we re- quire it in Europe. In making a bottle or other vessel they are said to line the mould with the prepared juice while it is yet liquid, and expose it to a thick smoke till the lining becomes of a yellow colour; upon this they put a second layer, which is treated in the same manner ; and they judge from experience when their vessel is of a proper thickness. When the resin is dry and hard, they pick out the clay arid fill the elastic bottle with water, in order to wrash out the pieces of the mould that may chance to remain in the cavity. In this state the substance, which is verv flexible and almost insoluble, is called elastic J gum. O Luke-warm water, or a heat of eighty or a hundred degrees, softens this substance, and softens SYRINGE TREE. 245 it more or less according to its thickness ; but never renders it fit to be moulded anew. This part of the process it would be highly gratifying to discover ; and we should be tempted, were it in our power, to rob the Indians of their secret, that so valuable and singular a commodity might be moulded by Europeans. Many different menstrua have been tried to dis- solve this singular substance; but none seems to have succeeded completely except ether. This fluid dissolves it without any other heat than that of the atmosphere, and produces a transparent and amber- coloured solution. To succeed, however, in this operation, the ether must be of the very best quality. Spirit of turpentine appears to be the next best menstruum for this purpose, since with the assist- ance of heat it may be made to dissolve the elastic resin, provided only a small quantity, and that cut very thin, is exposed to the spirit, at a time. BETEL TREE. MONOECIA MONADELPHIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Male. Calyx bivalve. Corolla of three stiff sharp-pointed petals. Female. Calyx and corolla in the same sheath with the male. Seed-vessel a thick, fibrous rind, enclosing an oval nut. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Areca Catecu. A. frondibus pinnatis : foliolis replicatis op- posite praemorsis. Linn. Spec. Plant. 3d ed. p. 1659. Fronds pinnated ; leaflets opposite, bent back, and very blunt at the ends. Palma cujus fructus sessilis- Faufel dicitur. Bauh. Pin. 510. Palma arecifera nucleo versicolore moschatae simili. Pink. Aim. 275 pi. 309* f. 4. Pi nanga. Rumph. Amb. 1. p. 2(5. t. 4. Caunga. Rheed. Mai. 1 . p. 9* pk 5, 8. Betel Tree. . Roxb. Corom. I. p. 54. pi. 75. The betel is a kind of palm, well known in India for the constant use which the inhabitants make Designed by W.Daniell . BETEL TREE. 2 17 of its nut. This tree, which is remarkably tall, straight, and slender, is crowned with six or eight leaves, each about six feet long, and winged, or com- posed of two ranges of straight lanceolate leaflets, placed opposite to each other. The side of the common leaf-stalk is angular ; and it expands at its base into a tough sheath, which encompasses the trunk of the tree, and is of so strong and close a tex- ture, that the natives use it to hold their victuals, and to contain their arrack, which it does as ef- fectually as a bladder. The nuts grow in clusters at the top of the tree, like those of the cocoa; but are not larger than a small hen’s egg; between their outward bark and the stone, is contained a succulent and fibrous pulp, which the natives call pinangue , and which they mix occasionally with their betel ; but the nut is the principal object of their attention, and these from their general use form a great article of traffic among them. The areca or betel-nut is not chewed alone, but mixed with the leaf of a species of pepper, which, from being constantly used for this purpose, has ob- tained the name of betel-leaf ; and the natives are said to prepare their areca by cutting it in slices, sprinkling it with slacked lime, and then wrapping it in some of these leaves. This preparation, when first chewed, tints the saliva of a fine reddish purple, which they eject, as it contains the greatest portion of the lime: the remainder they keep in their mouths as we do tobacco, till it no longer retains any flavour. 248 BETEL TREE. This mastication of betel is in general use in In- dia, where it is introduced both morning and even- ing. They carry it with them when they visit, and offer it to those they meet. It serves to occupy the time, by tilling up an idle hour, in the same man- ner as we use tobacco in Europe. Like the rest of the world, who can readily find an excuse for a fa- vourite indulgence, they pretend that the stomach is strengthened, and the constitution improved, by the chewing of betel. The inhabitants of the coast of Coromandel pre- pare their betel w ithout lime ; and indeed each district has its manner of seasoning their favourite relish, some mixing it with cardamoms and different aromatic drugs, while others make it still hotter by the addition of the most pungent spices. The constant use of this luxury is so pernicious to the teeth, that the Indians frequently lose them before they are thirty years old. It is likewise highly injurious to asthmatic and phthisical persons. They use the timber of this tree for rafters to their houses, and for pales to fence in their grounds. There is another species of this genus, the Areca loeracea Linn., inhabiting the Antilles, which is of considerable service to the natives on account of its durable wood. This, for about two inches from the exterior bark, is as hard as ebony ; but towards the centre the wood is soft and spongy. There is a terminal bud growing from the centre of this tree, which is composed of the young leaves, and con- sidered as a great delicacy by the natives, who tell BETEL TREE. 249 us that it tastes like an artichoke. It is either eaten raw with pepper, dressed with a white sauce, or fried. The Americans make use of the trunks of these trees for water-pipes and gutters ; for both which purposes they are admirably calculated, on account of the hardness and durability of the wood. It is hardly necessary to remark, that the interior and spongy part is previously removed. This species of areca is also used, when split into planks, to inclose the negro huts and gardens. In short, it seems of general utility wherever it grows; and therefore it is to be lamented that the tree, from not being readily propagated, becomes daily more scarce, and will pro- bably at length disappear. MAN I HOT. MONOECIA MONADELPHIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Male. Calyx none. Corolla a single petal, divided on its edge into five roundish parts. Female. Calyx none. Corolla of five petals. Seed-vessel divided into three cells with one seed in each. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Jatropa Manihot. J. foliis indivisis tri-quinquelobo-palmatis integerrimis subtus glaucis. Linn. Spec. Plant. IVilld. 4. p. 562. Leaves palmated, green beneath, and di- vided into three or five lobes, all of which are entire. J. foliis palmatis pentadactylis ; radice co- nico-oblonga carne sublactea. Brown, Jam. 349. Rieinus minor, viticis obtuso folio, caule verrucoso, flore pentapetalo albido, ex cujus radice tuberosa, succo venenato turgida, Atnericani panem confieiunt. Sloan. Jam. 41. Hut. 1. p. 130. pi. 85. MAN I HOT. 251 Manihot. . . . Toum. Inst. 658. pi. 438. Pluh.Alm. 241. pi. 205. f. 1. Mer. Surin. 4. f. 4 ,5. The manihot is a native of South America, of singular importance to the inhabitants, since its roots, properly prepared, afford them a very whole- some and nourishing food. The usual height of the plant is about six or seven feet; and the stem, which is covered with a shining green or reddish bark, is full of soft pith. The flowers are of a red- dish or pale yellow colour, and spring from the axils of the leaves, or the bifurcations of the branches. The fruit is smooth, and composed of three husks, each containing a shining seed of a whitish gray co- lour, marked with little spots. This useful shrub is cultivated in Asia, Africa, and America, particularly in the West Indies, where it proves of essential service to the negroes. It appears a paradox that any plant should yield a wholesome nutritious aliment, and secrete a mortal poison at the same time ; yet this is the case with the manihot, though the different products are easily separated by a very simple process. To ac- complish this it is only necessary to press out the venomous juice contained in the roots, and after- wards to dry the solid part, in order to convert it into flour, with which the negroes make their bread. We are assured that these people, notwith- standing their simplicity, are so certain to succeed in extracting the poisonous juice from this plant, that their bread never proves injurious to any one. They generally form the dry raspings of the root 252 MANIHOT. into flat cakes, called cassave, though, in several parts of America, they bake the raspings in grains or lumps, which are eaten in the same manner as rice. Among the varieties of this shrub which are cul- tivated, those of a red or violet tinge are the most common, and are reckoned the most profitable. The internal part of the root is always perfectly white, as well as the poisonous juice, which has the appearance of milk. When the plants have arrived at a proper age, the negroes cut off’ the stems close to the ground and dig up the roots, which are car- ried to an out-house, and the bark pared off with a knife. These parings, after being washed and grated, are put into mats, or sacks, and exposed to the action of a strong press for several hours. In this manner the poisonous juice is sufficiently ex- pressed from the wood, which is afterwards made into cassave. The manner in which this process is conducted is very simple : the grated root, in its prepared state, is laid on a plate of iron about two feet in diameter and half an inch in thickness. When this plate (which is supported on four feet for the purpose of lighting a fire under it) becomes hot, its surface is covered with the manihot root, which is very equally spread on the plate to the thickness of two fingers, and then flattened with a large wooden spatula. In this state it is left till the under side is sufficiently done, w hen it is merely turned, that both surfaces may be equally baked. The flat thin cake, which is thus formed, after being MANIHOT. 253 cooled in the air, acquires a firm consistence, and takes the name of cassave -bread. The cassave is seldom eaten without a secondary preparation ; this is merely to dip it in water or in broth, by which it is made to swell considerably, and in this state forms a solid and wholesome nou- rishment, which the inhabitants of many parts of South America, and particularly the negroes, prefer to other bread. The juice which is expressed from the root of the manihot carries with it a very fine white faecu- lum, which falls to the bottom of the receiving ves- sel. When the juice is poured off, and this faecu- lum collected, it appears perfectly white, and feels between the fingers like starch. This kind of flour is used for the most delicate puiq>oses, such as making of pastry and cakes. It is likewise manu- factured into powder ; and indeed appears to answ er all the purposes of wheaten flour. We have already noticed that the root of the manihot, besides its nutritive farina, contains a real poison. It is in the juice freshly expressed that this poison is to be found ; and Dr. Fermin, while resident at Surinam, made several experiments to prove its deleterious effects. From these we learn that a moderate dose of the juice given to dogs or cats, kills them in about twenty-four minutes, and that an ounce and a half is sufficient to kill a dog of a middling size. The death of the animal is at- tended by the usual symptoms of poison, such as attempts to vomit, great anxiety, convulsive motions, 254 MAM HOT. an increased secretion of saliva, and abundant eva- cuations. On opening the body the juice which had been swallowed was found undiminished ; it had not produced any vestige of inflammation in the stomach ; no alteration in the viscera, nor any coagulation of the blood. From whence lie infers that the poison acts entirely on the nervous system; and adds, that he cured a cat poisoned with this juice by giving her hot rape-oil till she brought it off her stomach. Dr. Fermin supposes, with good reason, that the juice owes its venomous quality to a volatile matter. To prove this, he distilled fifty pounds of the juice by a gradual heat, and drew from this quantity three ounces of a spirit whose smell was insupportable. Having an opportunity to try the effect of this spirit on a condemned slave, he gave the unhappy wretch thirty-five drops, which were scarcely swallowed be- fore he cried out most dreadfully, and writhed in every direction; this was followed by evacuations and con- vulsions, in which he died, after suffering extreme torture for six minutes. Three hours afterwards the body was opened, without finding any symptoms of inflammation ; nor was any part injured, except the stomach, which was contracted to less than half its size. MANCINELLA. MONOECIA MONADELPIIIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Male. Calyx of one leaf, bell-shaped, and notched at the end . Corolla none. Female. Calyx of three leaves. Corolla none. Pericarp pulpy, globose, containing a woody nut. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Hippomane m ancinella. H. foliis ovatis serratis. Spec. Plant. Linn. Willd. 4. p. 57 1. With oval serrated leaves. H. arboreum lactescens, ramulis ter- natis, petiolis glandula notatis. Brown Jam. 350. Juglandi affinis, arbor julifera lactes- cens venenata, pyrifolia. Sloan. Jam. 129. Hist. 2. p. 3. pi. 15g. MalusAmericana. Comm.Hort.l, p. 131. pi. 58. Mancinella Catesb. Carol. 1 . p. 95. pi. 95. Pluk. Phyt. 142. f. 4. The mancinella is a poisonous tree, growing in the East Indies and in America. It is tall, very much 256 MANCINELLA. branched, of a moderate thickness, and in its gene- ral appearance and foliage resembles a great pear tree. The leaves, the bark, and the wood of the mancinella, are full of a milky juice, which proves to be a most acrid and mortal poison. In this juice the Indians dip their arrows, when they intend to make them particularly fatal to their enemies; and as a proof of the great length of time which the poison retains its activity, we shall quote Bomare. This gentleman says that he saw it proved in the arsenal at Brussels, where the thigh of a dog was wounded with an arrow dipped in the juice ; and although it was known to have been empoisoned about a hundred and forty years, yet it took ef- fect, and killed the dog. The fresh juice is so acrid that a single drop will produce blisters on the skin, as if it had been burnt with a hot iron. Thus we may judge in some measure of the mischief it is capable of doing. Formerly, before the Indians attempted to fell this tree, they made a lire of dry wood round it in order to dissipate some of the dangerous sap, and were very careful, during this operation, to avoid the noxious fumes. At present, however, the workmen are less cautious, and merely cover their faces with gauze, and their hands with gloves, that they may not be injured by any accidental drops ol juice. It has been the fate of the mancinella (like other wonderful productions) to have its effects exagge- rated ; and we are accordingly told that the very MANCINELLA. 257 dew and rain which fall from its leaves are im- pregnated with poison, and that it is death to sleep beneath its shade. These accounts, however, are without foundation, since M. Du Tour informs us, that he has rested several times under this tree during more than two hours, and once while it O rained, without having experienced any ill effects from its shade. Nevertheless, he thinks it very probable that the air in its immediate neighbour- hood may not be wholesome, and therefore cautions the traveller against passing a night beneath the tree, or even sleeping within its influence in the day-time. The mancinella is common in the West Indies, and on the American continent, where it is said to grow near the sea. It is singular that, in this situation, the trees are often surrounded by a vast number of crabs, for whose attendance it is very difficult to account, since they certainly are not attracted by the fruit, as that, from its poisonous quality, is not eaten by any animal. The wood of this tree is very durable, and of a beautiful grain. It is of an ash colour, veined with brown, and varie- gated with yellow. Different kinds of furniture, and particularly tables, are made of it, which are esteemed for their beauty, as the wood takes a high polish, and is veined like marble. The best antidote against the poison of this tree is sweet oil ; though some recommend a goblet of sea- water, taken immediately, as an effectual remedy. vol. hi. s VALLISNER1A. DIOECIA DIANDRIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Male. Calyx a bipartite sheath. Corolla of one petal divided into three parts. Female. Calyx of three parts, divisions oval. Corolla of three linear petals. Pericarp cylindrical ; containing many seeds. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Vallisneria spiralis. Linn. Spec. Plant, p. 1441, ed. tert. V. palustris, algae folio ; foliis in sum- mitate denticulatis ; flore purpuras- cente. Mich. Gen. 12. pi. 10. f. 1. Leaves flag-shaped, toothed at their summits ; flowers purple. Vallisneria. . . . Flor. Lapponica, Hort. Cliff. 454. This plant has justly excited the attention of na- turalists for the singularity of its mechanism. It is a native of Italy, where it flourishes in aquatic situ- ations, and is said also to inhabit great part of Asia. The plant has nothing attractive in its appearance, nor any thing to recommend it to the eye of the VALLISNERIA. 25’ on the tree, the insects would no' make o their nests ; on which account they are careful to gather it before the first hoar frosts in September. The wax thus produced is carried to court, and reserved for the use of the emperor, princes, and chief mandarins. It is considered as a precious commodity, and esteemed for many virtues. The physicians prescribe it for several diseases ; and when applied to wounds it is said to make the flesh heal in a very short time. It is supposed to be possessed of great power in nervous affections, and is swallowed in considerable quantity by the Chi- nese when they are about to speak in public, or have occasion, at any time, to exert an extraordi- nary degree of firmness and resolution. vol. hi. T FAN-LEAVED PALM. DIOECIA HEXANDRIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Male. Calyx a compound sheath. Corolla of three parts ; petals oval and concave. Female. Calyx a sheath as in the male. Corolla of three parts; petals roundish. Pericarp a roundish obtuse berry, containing three seeds. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Borassus flabellifer. B. frondibus palmatis plicatis cucullatis, stipilibus serratis. Linn. Spec. Plant. 3d ed. p. 1657. Leaves hand-shaped, folded like a fan, wide at top, and drawn to a point be- low ; leaf-stalk serrated. Borassus frondibus palmatis. FI. Zeyl. 395. Palma coccifera, folio plicatili flabelli- formi j mas, femina. Raij Hist. 13 66. Fan-leaved Palm. . . Rheed. Mai. 1. pi. 9, 10. Rumph. Amh. 1. p. 45. pi. 10. This tree, which belongs to the family of palms, is remarkable for the shape of its leaves and of its H ■■ ■: j» : • >' *<• » •#> , • **'» -«**».* : ' : :’;VH ' .'V , • • > i - - • t:. ‘ ' ' ’ v*-:- . • -:•••< - % / - / ■*- ✓/-< - * • . W . ■ ’ ’ . • •• • ..;•>■• ' ' ' ' ; . * " /• ••• : :■ ■ . m ' i * - • ■i • - ♦ ; x i < 4 n 4? « ; ' ) ' • ' - ’• . ■ ■ i . ■ ' ' .;:■■■< • . - ' - • . . * ; * J . \ - .4" - . i ‘ HI* f. * *^ai' Vt ' ,‘l; ’ • r.t' -‘il V* : « v ' ■< •' f., ... 04 „ . ■ - - / * * **, - • v . - ^ / a 11 • :• ; K . n 0 l •* - ■ 1 ‘ \ v . i : i • ’->• . , • i s V -f’fi . . ;.-••• . 1 ■( • • ' ■ ; ' U J • :"'(rr »» V . -..i'-- •' • iu ' . s v • . mp ; • a n . - •jiicaiuio.? iiret 1 : * • - ■ P.f>Ki >e » •. - a . ' « * \ • ‘ \ ’ : ' .■* • ‘ • 4JV • _ - • I V. It ' /.< ... - • - i ¥>ft r • 1 1 'K ' . Of it* Logrj tfxn>iY tiopucfs-jiAvjx y /pp») ,y p.np-ip/nj FAN-LEAVED PALM. 275 fruit; the former exactly resemble the green candle- shades which are now made to slide within a hol- low stick, and the latter represent the posteriors of a large animal. The borassus is a native of India, where it grows to the height of thirty feet, and is crowned with a bunch of fan-shaped leaves, each of which is five or six feet long, and supported on a stalk, armed on each side with a row of spines. It is said to pro- duce fruit but once during the time of its existence: this seems to be the final operation of Nature; for we are assured that soon after the fructuatron is ac- complished, the tree loses its vigour and gradually decays. This palm tree is highly prized by the natives of India, on account of its great utility : they draw from it a very agreeable liquor, susceptible of vinous fermentation, from which they either distill a spirit, or, by evaporation, obtain a sugar. The wood is of a black colour, variegated with veins of a yellowish tint. It is used in the building of their houses, in several parts of their furniture, and for some of their domestic utensils. For all these purposes it seems admirably calculated ; since, like the rest of the palms, it is of a very hard nature, and exceedingly durable. The leaves are also put to many uses ; with these, when entire, they cover their houses, and make their screens and parasols : when divided into slips, they are made into mats which serve for different purposes ; and finally, when cut in small t 2 2^6* FAN-LEAVED PALM. pieces, they use them as a substitute for writing- paper. The fruit of the borassus has been known from time immemorial by the name of the Coco of the Maldives. Many of the trees grow in those islands, where the inhabitants prize the fruit on account of several valuable properties, of which the principal is its power to preserve them against all kinds of poi- son. The belief of this power in the fruit is so strongly impressed on their minds, that they are said to sell it at a very dear rate to their neighbours, for similar purposes. J)r.rit/ncd by W Tkmicll * . • v- \ ; • r- ■ . 'SO 0\<,» / r. i y, > .< ( m v , • -v t IV f; .* V >: • r ■ ' :! . >. V • .S\ m.jK- -:CW *.« . , . •> re- . . : ( . tl ' :T r ' ■* • \ ' . , ■ • - ■ ' ' ■ »'i: kvH'Wi ;■ Kill f! • • ‘ " ' ■*<- v« . •• . . • \'C t, CO', ru i< ‘ '• >. • 1 # *•? ■V. r 'r-‘ v *•"? ; . . •••“••. ;.• tv > > • V* ■*. n* ‘ • j* . . .r . ’ * . • 'r, • i » •* - , ■ ■ - ■ • , ' ■ - ■ ■ ttf . ■ - ■ : ■ ' ■ . : . ■ - '■ ■ » • ■ 1 • i * •• H ;> ' ♦ ft lz . - . - ••• — . • r- • ;.. . • ' r * - i *. M ** •<- : i < : ' • ■ < • • • • • • - -r . V. <■ - -v ■' 1 i : | . - •- ’ * Hi . ' ,* - • j -• ; \ * • ■ - ■ • V v U : - V • l h* X •; \ ■ : * .. ** -v* : ■ _i L BANANA TREE. POLYGAMIA MONOECIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx a large many-flowered sheath. Corolla ail irregular petal divided into two lips. Pericarp a long fleshy fruit. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Musa Sapientum. M. spadice nutante, floribus masculis de- ciduis. Linn. Spec. Plant. 2. p. 14/7. Sheath nodding, male flowers deciduous. Musa spadice nutante, fructu breviore ob- longo. Brown. Jam. 363. Musa caudice maculato, fructu recto ro- tunda breviore odorato. Sloan. Jain. IQ2. Hist. 2. p. 147- Banana Tree. . Trav. Ehret. 4. pi. 21, 22, 23. Sted. Sur. 2. p. 3/2. This and the plantain, tree (musci paradisiaca) are well known to the inhabitants of the West India islands, who cultivate them on an extensive scale for the sake of their nourishing fruit. The two plants are so connected together, in point of utility BANANA TREE. 278 as well as form, that the description of one is ne- cessarily followed by that of the other. The French distinguish the two species by the different shape of the fruit ; one they call the banana with long fruit, the other the banana with round. The first, or plantain, properly so called, rises with a soft stalk fifteen or twenty feet high, the lower part of which is frequently as large as a man’s thigh. A bunch of large leaves bursts from the top of the stem, and spreads over it on every side. These leaves are seven or eight feet long, and two or three broad : they are said to be rolled up in a kind of sheath before they make their appearance, and that in this state their growth is so amazingly quick, that they may be seen to rise towards the top of the stem with the naked eye. While they are pushing up in this manner, if a fine line is drawn across, level with the top of the leaf, in an hour’s time the leaf will be near an inch above it. When the plant is arrived at its full size, a spike of flowers will be seen to push up from its centre, which is often near four feet in length, and bends downwards on one side. The fruit, or plantains, which proceed from these, are about a foot long, and an inch and a half or two inches in diameter : they consist of a green, or, when ripe, of a yellowish skin, containing a soft pulpy substance of a luscious flavour. The plan- tain spikes, when well loaded with fruit, are often so large as to weigh forty pounds each, and the food they yield the natives is so nutritious, that Dr. Wright says, without this fruit, the island of BANANA TREE. 279 Jamaica, where it is cultivated in great quantities, would scarcely be habitable, as no species of pro- vision could supply its place, or so well enable the negro to fulfil the laborious task allotted to him. The banana differs from the plantain in having its stalks marked with dark purple stripes, and spots ; its fruit too is neither so long nor so much curved; it is likewise of a rounder shape, and its flesh is of a firmer consistence and more luscious flavour. The leaves, which are of equal length with the other species, frequently contain in their substance a great quantity of water, which issues out upon a small incision being made in the tree, at their base. The body of the banana is ex- ceedingly porous, and perishes to the roots every autumn, pushing up a new stem the following spring. The fruit of this tree is so essential to the inhabitants of the tropical climates where it grows, that they never go to a distance without taking a quantity of it with them. Labat tells us, that when the natives of the West Indies undertake a voyage, they make provision of a paste of banana ; which, in case of need, serves them for nourishment and drink ; for this purpose they take ripe ba- nanas, and, having squeezed them through a fine sieve, form the solid fruit into small loaves, which are dried in the sun, or in hot ashes, after being previously wrapped up in the leaves of Indian flow- ering reed. When they would make use of this paste they dissolve it in water, which is very easily done; and the liquor, thereby rendered thick, has an 1280 BANANA TREE. agreeable acid taste imparted to it, which makes it both refreshing and nourishing. The fruit of the banana is eaten in different ways : when gathered fresh from the tree it forms a wholesome and cooling food ; but although the na- tives are very fond of it in this state, it is more fre- quently fried in slices as fritters, or roasted in hot cinders, or boiled in the same kettle with their salt meat. In any way it is easily digested, unless eaten to excess. When the fruit is cut transversely, something like the figure of a cross appears im- printed in the centre : this has made the banana greatly esteemed, and even venerated, by the na- tives of Madeira, who call it the forbidden fruit, and reckon it a crime of the first magnitude to cut it with a knife. The stems of the bananas, which are thick and herbaceous, preserve their moisture for a considera- ble time after they have been cut down, which is generally done every year after they have produced their fruit. With these stems the inhabitants feed their cattle and sheep, who are very fond of them. The plantations of bananas, which are very exten- sive in the West Indies, are subject to two con- siderable drawbacks ; the first is from those dread- ful hurricanes which are but too common in that part of the world, and which sweep down all before them ; and the other from the perishable natuie of the fruit, which ripening in great abundance at a certain time of the year, soon rots, and will hardly hear to be removed to any distance. Ibis has in- BANANA TREE. 281 duced M. Badier of Guadaloupe to suggest two methods of drying it, which he lias described as being calculated to succeed very well. The leaves of the banana, as well as the fruit, are of service to the inhabitants of the Indies; and amongst the varieties of the plant which are there cultivated, that called the hog-banana is particularly useful. The natives of the Molucca Islands make the leaves of this kind serve for napkins and table- cloths ; they likewise polish them, when dry, so as to give them the appearance of a fine brown paper ; and it is with these leaves that they make the little rollers in which they wrap up their tobacco. But they apply them to a still better purpose ; for they contrive to write their letters upon this brittle paper, which of course cannot be lasting. The heart of the dower-stalks of this sort of banana is cut in pieces, and given to the hogs. There is another variety of singular service to the inhabitants of some parts of India, since they contrive to draw a thread from the base of the leaves, of which they make two sorts of cloth, of a yellowish colour, and nearly as good as that from raw hemp. The most common sort they make into clothing, after it has been dyed black, red, or yellow: the other, which is of a fine texture, and shines like silk, they either dye black, or paint with a variety of figures of animals and flowers; and thus make an elegant covering for their beds or sofas. From the exterior and filamentous part of the plant they get their cordage and cables ; and it 282 BANANA TREE. is from this plant that the natives of Manado make their bags and hammocks. Thus is the banana proved to be of the most essential service to mankind. In those climates that are congenial to its nature it propagates abun- dantly, and is of more use than the cocoa-nut, in- asmuch as it is more generally diffused. Its fruit likewise is of far more consequence, since it con- tributes so largely to the nourishment of the natives. It may indeed be said to form their first food, at least in that part of the country where the rice is scarce. Infants at the breast are fed with the roasted fruit, which the mother forms into a pap, by first chewing it in her own mouth, and then passing it into the child’s. The ensete , a plant described and figured by Mr. Bruce, has been supposed by some to be a species of musa, though the Abyssinian traveller is not of the same opinion. The ensete is a native of Narea, where it grows in the great marshes and swamps for which that province is remarkable. T his, as well as the coffee tree, is said to have been unknown in Abys- sinia before the arrival of the Galla, a neighbour- ing people, who imported them at the same time. It comes to great perfection about Gondar ; but the principal plantations of it are in that part of Maitslia and Goutto, to the west of the Nile, where it is al- most the only food of the Galla, who inhabit that country. Indeed, if it were not for this plant, they would be miserably ofi for vegetable food, since, Maitslia being almost upon a level, the rains are apt BANANA TREE. 283 to stagnate, and prevent the sowing of grain. As this plant is one of those rarities which Mr. Bruce considers as totally distinct from any other, and not belonging to the same genus as the banana, not- withstanding what botanists may say to the con- trary, we shall conclude this account with his ob- servations on tbe subject : " Some who have seen my drawing of this plant, and at the same time found the banana in many parts of the East, have thought the ensete to be a species of musa. This, however, I imagine, is with- out any sort of reason. It is true, the leaf of the banana resembles that of the ensete ; it bears figs, and has an excrescence from its trunk, which is ter- minated by a conical figure, chiefly differing from the ensete in size and quantity of parts : but the figs of the banana are in shape of a cucumber; and this is the part which is eaten. This fig is sweet, though mealy, and of a taste highly agreeable. It is supposed to have no seeds, though in fact there are four small black seeds in every fig belonging to it. But the figs of the ensete are not eatable; they are of a tender, soft substance; watery, tasteless, and in colour and consistence similar to a rotten apricot: they are of a conical form, crooked a little at the lower end, about an inch and a half in length, and an inch in breadth where thickest. In the inside of these is a large stone, half an inch long, of the shape of a bean, or cashoo-nut, of a dark brown co- lour; and this contains a small seed, which is sel- dom hardened into fruit, but consists only of skin. 284 BANANA TREE. “ The long stalk that bears the figs of the ensete springs from the centre of the plant, or rather is the body or solid part of the plant itself. Upon this, where it begins to bend, are a parcel of loose leaves, then grows the fig upon the body of the plant without any stalk ; after which the top of the stalk is thick set with small leaves, in the midst of which it terminates the fiower in form of the arti- choke : whereas in the banana, the flower, in form of the artichoke, grows at the end of that shoot or stalk which proceeds from the middle of the plant, the upper part of which bears the row of figs. The leaves of the ensete are a web of longitudinal fibies closely set together ; the leaves grow from the bot- tom, and are wuthout stalks: whereas the banana is in shape like a tree, and has been mistaken for such. One half of it is divided into a stem, the other is a head formed of leaves; and in place of the stem that grows out of the ensete, a number of leaves rolled together round like a truncheon, shoots out of the heart of the banana, and renews the upper as the under leaves fall off : but all the leaves of the banana have a long stalk ; this fixes them to the trunk, which they do not embrace by a broad base, or involucrum, as the ensete does. “ But the greatest differences are still remaining: the banana has, by some, been mistaken for a tree of the palmaceous tribe, for no othei reason but a kind of similarity in producing the fruit on an ex- crescence, or stalk, growing from the heart of the stem; but still the musa is neither woody nor peren- BANANA TREE. 285 nial ; it bears fruit but once ; and in all respects it differs from trees of tbe palmaceous kind, and in- deed from all sorts of trees whatever. The ensete, on the contrary, has no naked stem, no part of it is woody; the body of it, for several feet high, is escu- lent; hut no part of the banana can be eaten. As soon as the stalk of the ensete appears perfect and full of leaves, the body of the plant turns hard and fibrous, and is no longer eatable ; before, it is the best of all vegetables. When boiled it has the taste of the best new wheat-bread not perfectly baked. “ When you make use of the ensete for eating, you cut it immediately above the small detached roots, and perhaps a foot or two higher, as the plant is of age. You strip the green from the upper part till it becomes white ; when soft, like a turnip well boiled, if eat with milk or butter, it is the best of all food, wholesome, nourishing, and easily digested.” What follows is chiefly to prove, that notwith- standing the figure of the banana occurs among the Egyptian hieroglyphics, yet it is merely adventitious in Egypt, and is really a native of Syria. SUGAR MAPLE. POLYGAMIA MONOECIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calyx of one leaf with five divisions. Corolla of five oval petals. Seed-vessels united at the base; roundish, compressed, each terminated by a large membranaceous wing, and con- taining a solitary seed. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Acer saccharinum. A. foliis quinquepartito-palmatis, acu- minato-dentatis. Linn. Spec. Plant. ed. tert. 1496. Leaves hand-shaped, sharply toothed, and divided into five parts. Sugar Maple Tree. Amer. Phil. Trans. 3. p. 64. We are indebted to Dr. Benjamin Rush, professor of the Institute and of clinical medicine in the university of Pennsylvania, for an excellent account of the manner in which the sugar is piocured fiom this useful plant, as well as for some observations on the nutritive qualities of that aliment. In the following description, therefore, we shall avail our- SUGAR MAPLE. 287 selves of his assistance, and introduce as much of his account as is sufficient tor our purpose. • • * The sugar maple tree grows in great quantities in the western countries of all the middle states of North America; but those of New York and Penn- sylvania are said to yield the most sugar. They sometimes form thick groves of five or six acres , but are generally interspersed with some ot the common forest trees. 1 hey are chiefly found m the richest sods, and in the neighbourhood of the purest streams. The sugar maple is supposed to arrive at its full growth in the woods in twenty years ; it is then as tall as an oak, and from two to three feet in diame- ter; the beautiful white blossom which it puts forth before a single leaf makes its appearance, is suf- ficient to distinguish it immediately from the rest of its companions. The sugar with which the small branches are impregnated affords the cattle and sheep a considerable share of nourishment du- ring the winter season; and, according to Dr. Hush, was what the domestic animals belonging to the first settlers chiefly subsisted upon in that inclement sea- son, before they were able to supply its place by the cultivation of forage. It is a happy circumstance that this maple tree, far from being injured by tapping, is improved by it, so that a single tree has not only survived, but flourished, after forty-two tappings in the same number of years. The oftener it is tapped the more sugar is obtained from it ; and the doctor ob- 288 SUGAR MAPLE. serves, that the annual discharge from the tree, in improving and increasing the sap, is demonstrated from the superior excellence of those trees which have been perforated in a hundred places by a small wood-pecker, which feeds upon the juice. The sap of these trees is much sweeter to the taste than that which is obtained from trees which have not been previously wounded, and it affords more sugar. The season for tapping the trees is in February, March, and April, according to the weather which occurs in these months ; and a tree of an ordinary size will yield, in a good season, from twenty to thirty gallons of sap, from which are made from four to five pounds of sugar. The temperature of the air has such an influence on the circulation of the sap, that the quantity discharged from a wounded tree in the course of four-and-twenty hours, will vary from five gallons to a pint, and will totally cease in the night if a frost should chance to succeed a warm day. Dr. Rush has thus described the manner in which the juice is collected : “ The perforation in the tree is made with an axe or an auger: the latter is preferred, from experience of its advantages. The auger is introduced about thiee quarters of an inch, and in an ascending direction, (that the sap may not be frozen in a slow current in the mornings or evenings,) and is afterwaids deepened gradually to the extent of two inches. A spout is introduced about half an inch into the hole made by this auger, and projects from three to SUGAR MAPLE. 289 twelve inches from the tree. The spout is gene- rally made of the shumach *, or elder which generally grow in the neighbourhood of the sugar trees. The tree is first tapped on the south side ; when the discharge of its sap begins to lessen, an opening is made on its north side, from which an increased discharge takes place. The sap flows from four to six weeks, according to the tempera- ture of the weather. Troughs large enough to con- tain three or four gallons, made of white pine, or white ash, or of dried water-ash, aspen, linden, poplar J, or common maple, are placed under the spout, to receive the sap, which is carried every day to a large receiver, made of either of the trees before mentioned.” The maple tree continues to yield a thin sap during the whole of the summer and part of the autumn ; but what flows after April is not fit for the manufactory of sugar. It is not, how ever, with- out its use, as it affords a wholesome drink in har- vest, which, according to the Baron La Hontan, is more grateful to the taste than the best lemonade or cherry water. The sugar is made from the sap either by freez- ing, by spontaneous evaporation, or by boiling; but the last is the method most commonly practised of the three ; and the Americans have found from ex- perience, that the sap should never be kept longer than twenty-four hours, after it is collected, before * Rhus, f Sambucus canadensis. J Liriodendron tulipifera. VOL. III. U 290 SUGAR MAPLE. it is put over the fire. The sap, as has already been observed, flows into wooden troughs, from which it is carried and poured into store troughs, or large cisterns in the shape of a canoe, and from these into the kettle where it is to be boiled. During the process they add butter, hog’s-lard or tallow, to prevent the kettle from boiling over ; and lime, eggs, or new milk, are mixed with the juice in or- der to clarify it. A very small quantity, it seems, of these ingredients will suffice for the purpose, since a spoonful of slacked lime, the white of one egg, or a pint of new milk, will be sufficient to clarify fifteen gallons of sap. The sugar, after it has been sufficiently boiled, is conducted through the remaining processes nearly in the same manner as in the West Indies; therefore it will be un- necessary to repeat in this place what has been said under the description of the Sugar-cane : it may not, however, be uninteresting, to compare the maple sugar with that which is obtained from the West Indian cane, with respect to its quality, price, or the probable quantity that can be made of it in the United States. Dr. Rush has considered these heads with some attention, and the following is the result of his observations : “ 1. The quality of this sugar is necessarily bet- ter than that which is made in the West Indies. It is prepared in a season when not a single insect exists to feed upon it, or to mix its excrements with it, and before a particle of dust or of the pol- SUGAR MAPLE. 291 len of plants can float in tlie air. The same ob- servation cannot be applied to the West India sugar. The insects and worms which prey upon it, and of course mix with it, compose a page in a nomenclature of natural history. I shall say no- thing of the hands which are employed in making sugar in the West Indies, but that men who work for the exclusive benefit of others are not under the same obligations to keep their persons clean while they are employed in this work, that men, women, and children are, who work exclusively for the benefit of themselves, and who have been edu- cated in the habits of cleanliness. The superior purity of the maple sugar is further evinced by its leaving a less sediment, when dissolved in water, than the West India sugar. “ It has been supposed that the maple sugar is inferior to the West India sugar in strength. The experiments which led to this opinion I suspect have been inaccurate, or have been made with ma- ple sugar prepared in a slovenly manner. I have examined equal quantities by weight, of both the grained and loaf sugar, in hyson tea, and in coffee, made in every respect equal by the minutest cir- cumstances that could affect the quality or taste of each of them, and could perceive no inferiority in the strength of the maple sugar. The liquors which decided this question were examined, at the same time, by Alexander Hamilton, esq. secretary of the treasury of the United States, Mr. Henry 292 SUGAR MAPLE. Drinker, and several ladies, who all concurred in the above opinion. u 2. Whoever considers that the gift of the sugar maple trees is from a benevolent Providence, that we have many millions of acres in our country co- vered with them, that the tree is improved by re- peated tappings, and that the sugar is obtained by the frugal labour of a farmer’s family ; and at the same time considers the labour of cultivating the sugar-cane, the capitals sunk in sugar-works, the first cost of slaves and cattle, the expenses of pro- visions for both of them ; and in some instances the additional expense of conveying the sugar to a market, in all the AVest India islands, will not hesitate in believing that the maple sugar may be manufactured much cheaper, and sold at a less price, than that which is made in the West In- dies. ee 3. The resources for making a sufficient quan- tity of this sugar, not only for the consumption of the United States, but for exportation, will appear from the following facts : There are in the states of New York and Pennsylvania, alone, at least ten millions of acres of land which produce the sugar maple tree, in the proportion of thirty trees to one acre. Now, supposing all the persons capable of labour in a family to consist of three, and each per- son to attend 150 trees, and each tree to yield five pounds of sugar in a season ; the product of the la- bour of 6‘0, 000 families would be 135,000,000 SUGAR MAPLE. 293 pounds of sugar ; and, allowing the inhabitants of the United States to compose 600,000 families, each of which consumed 200 pounds of sugar m a year, the whole consumption would amount to 120,000,000 pounds, and would leave a balance of 15,000,000 pounds for exportation. Valuing the sugar at of a dollar per pound, the sum saved to the United States would be 8,000,000 dollars by home consumption, and the sum gained by exportation would be 1,000,000 dol- lars. The only part of this calculation that will appear improbable is, the number of families sup- posed to be employed in the manufactory of the sugar ; but the difficulty of admitting this sup- position will vanish, when we consider, that double that number of families are employed every year in making cyder, the trouble, risk, and expenses of which are all much greater than those of making maple sugar.” Besides the profit arising from the sugar, the maple tree affords an after sap, which makes an ex- cellent vinegar ; and as the juice that flows at this time is too weak to afford any sugar, the different processes do not interfere with each other. A pleasant summer beer may likewise be made from the molasses, and a spirit distilled from the sap. The nourishment afforded by sugar is known to be very considerable ; hence it is preferred by the Indians in their excursions from home. They are said to mix a certain quantity of maple sugar with 294 SUGAR MAPLE. an equal quantity of Indian corn, dried and pow- dered. This mixture is packed in little baskets, which are frequently wetted in travelling without injuring the sugar. Thus provided, the Indians make long journeys ; and, when fatigued by tra- velling, will recruit their strength with a few spoonfuls of this nutritious food mixed in half a pint of spring water. SENSITIVE PLANT. FOLYGAMIA MONOECIA. GENERIC CHARACTER, Calyx of one small petal with four clefts. Corolla funnel-shaped, half- five-cleft. Pericarp a long pod, containing’ several seeds, SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Mimosa pudica, M. aculea.ta, foliis subdigitatis pinnatis, caule hispido. Spec. Plant. Linn. ed. tert. p. 1501. Prickly Mimosa, with finger-shaped pinnated leaves an,d hairy stem. Mimosa humilis frutescens & spinosa, siliquis conglobatis. Plum. Spec. 1/. Icon. 203. Mimosa foliis digitatis 3 foliolis pinnatis, caule aculeato hispidoque 3 foliis pinnato- palmatis, singulis numerose pinnatis. Hort. Cliff. 208. Sensitive Plant. Comm. Hort. l.p. 57. pi. 29. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. ed. 1803. 1. p. 63. pi. 1. f. 2. This well known exotic lias long and justly been admired for exhibiting a very curious phenomenon. It has the singular property of contracting certain paits of its body whenever they are touched. By SENSITIVE PLANT. 296 this motion, of which the cause still remains to be discovered, the plant appears to be sensible to the impression not only of bodies immediately applied to it, but likewise to the influence ot the surround- ing elements, & c. Thus sudden degrees of heat, or cold, the vapour of boiling water, the fumes arising from sulphur, the odour of volatile liquors; or, in short, any thing that deranges the nerves of animals, will also affect the sensitive plant. There are other species of this genus that possess the same faculty in different degrees ; the subject of our present consideration is the common sensi- tive plant, and was originally introduced into our gardens from Brasil, and other parts of South Ame- rica. The stem is cylindrical, and of a green or purplish colour, with two spines at the base of each leaf, besides a few others scattered about the branches. The leaves are pinnatifid, supported on long footstalks, and each pinnule is furnished with fifteen or twenty pair of oblong, narrow, and shin- ino- leaflets. From the base of the leafstalks prO- fc) ceed the peduncles, each of which supports a bunch of very small white or flesh-coloured flowers. The seed-vessels are united in packets of twelve or fifteen each : they are edged with minute spines, and each husk contains three little seeds. As soon as the evening approaches, the sensitive plant begins to lower its leaves, till at length they rest upon the stem : but it is not this property which is so remarkable; as, far from being confined to the mimosa, it is common to many plants, espe- SENSITIVE PLANT. 297 daily of the leguminous kind. This is not the case, however, with its moving faculty, which from its singularity has so long excited the astonishment of the naturalist. Among those who have attended to its motions and the phaenomena which result from them, may be ranked the learned Dr. Hook. Other naturalists, especially Dufay and Duharnel, have, since his time, studied the same plant with equal attention ; and from their observations we learn that it is difficult to touch a leaf of a healthy mimosa, even in the most careful and delicate manner, without causing it to close. The great nerve which runs along the middle of the leaf, serves as a hinge for the sides to close upon, and they may be observed to do this with great exactness, the two sides being exactly opposed to each other. If the pressure is made with any degree of force, the opposite leaf of the same pair will be affected at the same time, and move in the same manner. Upon squeezing the leaf still harder, all the leaflets of the same side re- sent the affront, and close immediately : the effect may be even carried so far that the leaf-stalk will approach the branch from which it issues, and the whole plant collect itself into a bundle, and become reduced to a certain point. When the leaves have even faded and turned yel- low, or rather when the branches are in a dying state, the plant will retain its sensibility, and close its leaves upon being agitated. A fine rain will not disturb the mimosa in the least; but if it falls SENSITIVE PLANT. 298 heavily, and is accompanied with wind, the plant immediately becomes affected. The leaves which have been irritated and made to close, at length recover themselves and resume their former position. The time necessary to effect this purpose is unequal, since it depends on differ- ent circumstances, such as the health of the plant, the season of the year, the hour of the day ; some- times it is effected in twenty minutes, sometimes in less than ten. The order also in which this is ma- naged, is subject to vary ; sometimes it begins in the leaves on the sides of the leaflets, sometimes in the branches, and then the whole of the plant is generally included in the motion. It is said in the Histoire de VAcademie des Sciences , for the year 1 729, that in a dark place, and in a uniform temperature, the mimosa never fails to observe two periodical motions, that is, to shut up its leaves at night, and open them again in the morning. The following experiment, however, made by Dufay and Duhamel, does not appear to confirm this observation : — “ A sensitive plant being carried in the month of August into a dark cave, where the temperature of the air was more equal than in the place appropriated to the former experiment, the plant indeed closed its leaves ; but it was, in all probability, occasioned by being shook in the carriage. It did not recover itself till about twenty -four hours afterwards, and from that time continued open during three days, though not quite so much so as when in a perfectly natural state. SENSITIVE PLANT. 299 The plant was then carried into the open air, where, after remaining a night, it was perfectly recovered, without having been at all weakened by its late usage, or having lost any of its former sensibility. By this experiment, which is not the only one that was made, it is pretty clear that neither light nor darkness has any sensible effect upon the sen- sitive plant; it is not so passive, however, under the different degrees of temperature. In a place which has been greatly heated, and where the thermometer will suddenly rise several degrees, the mimosa will shut sooner than when in the open air: — “ from hav- ing observed this to take place several times, we are led to suppose that the cause of its spontaneous mo- tion is the great and sudden changes of temperature which so commonly take place in our climate : this opinion may be easily put to tbe proof ; for if a plant of this species be raised under a bell-glass, ex- posed to the heat of the sun, it will close almost the moment it is uncovered, provided the external air is in a much cooler state.” Nevertheless, though heat and cold contribute greatly towards its alternate motion, yet tbe plant is certainly less sensible, or more sluggish in its move- ments, during the winter. In a good green house, indeed, it will continue to contract through the whole of this inclement season ; but then its func- tions seem to be considerably impaired, and it moves with less vivacity. After a branch has been separated from the shrub the leaves still retain their sensibility, and will shut 300 SENSITIVE PLANT. on being touched, or from any of the causes which excited their action before. If the end of the branch is kept in water, the leaves will continue to act for a considerable time. It is of no consequence with what substance we touch the plant; but this is not exactly the case with respect to the part, since there is, in the articulations of the leaves, a little place, known by its white colour, which appears to be par- ticularly irritable. If the sensitive plant be plunged into water, the leaves from the influence of the cold will close; but afterwards they will recover themselves, and if touched in this state, will again shut themselves up as if they had been in the open air; but by no means so quickly. This experiment does not ma- terially injure the plant; for in the course of a day or twro it completely recovers, and appears as vigorous as if it had never been removed from its natural ele- ment. Any violent application to this very curious plant immediately produces the most sensible effect: if the extremity of a leaf exposed to the rays of the sun, is burnt either with a lens or with a lighted taper, or is squeezed between a pair of hot pincers, it closes in an instant; and in the same moment, not only the leaflet which is opposite to it does the same, but all that are upon the same stalk ; and this will take place more or less, according to the strength of the impression, so that when the injury has been very great, the plant will be violently agitated for some distance round the spot. SENSITIVE TLANT. 301 If a drop of aqua-fortis is placed upon a leaf so as to remain stationary, it does not affect the plant ; but when it begins to spread, the irritation is com- municated from one leaflet to another, till the whole of them on that part of the stalk are closed. The vapour of burning sulphur immediately deranges them, and the leaves will be affected, according as they are more or less exposed to the fumes. Al- though a branch of this extraordinary plant be di- vided through two thirds of its diameter, yet the leaves belonging to it retain the same degree of sen- sibility, and open and shut with the same freedom as before. This is the fact, though at the same time we must acknowledge it difficult to conceive how so great a wound can be made without pro- ducing any sensible alteration in the plant. The vapour of boiling water affects the leaves in the same manner as if they were burnt, and those which are exposed to its influence are benumbed for several hours, and seldom recover themselves en- tirely during the remainder of the day. T1 1 us we have detailed the principal phaenomena that occur in this very singular plant, upon which so many observations have been made. Many con- jectures have been formed, and many theories raised, to account in a satisfactory manner for the spring which works this delicate machine; but as yet it has eluded the search of the naturalist, and the question will not probably be soon resolved. It has been supposed by some that the mimosa is endued with a power of perception which actuates all its 302 SENSITIVE PLANT. motions ; others think that its movements depend on a convulsive or spasmodic effort, while there are many, and those not the least rational, who consider all its actions as purely mechanical. To enter into discussions of this kind would lead us far beyond the limits of our undertaking ; we shall therefore be satisfied to leave the matter as it stands, and only contemplate the plant, as one of those natural won- ders which tend to lead us, by gentle and pleasing steps, to the knowledge of an all-powerful Creator. FIG TREE. POLYGAMIA TRIOECIA. GENERIC CHARACTER. Male. Calyx divided into three parts. Corolla none. Female. Calyx of five divisions. Corolla none. The male flowers are situated near the top of the fig, just under t lie eye ; the females within the body of t he fruit, where each produces a small flattish seed. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Ficus cauica. F. foliis palmatis. Linn. Spec. Plant, ed. tert. p. 1513. Leaves hand- shaped. Ficus communis. Bauh. Pin. 45 7. Ficus. Dod. Pempt. 812. Ficus humilis. Bauh. Pin. 457 • Common Fig. Duhamel, Traitc des Arlres, 1. p. 235. pi. 99* The fig is a striking instance of that contrivance which Nature occasionally employs for the con- tinuation of her species. We were for a long time unacquainted with the manner in which these 301 TIG TREE. plants were propagated: in other kinds it is the flower which contains the embryo of the fruit ; in this, on the contrary, it is the fruit which encloses and conceals the flower. The mode in which the fig trees are made to produce their fruit, is called caprification , and this we shall proceed to explain in its proper place. Among the several species of this genus which have been enumerated by botanists, the common fig is by far the most useful, and is cultivated in many parts of Europe for the excellence of its fruit. The w ild as well as the cultivated kind is supposed to have been originally brought from Asia, from whence they have been spread over the southern parts of Europe, and are now to be met with in Languedoc, in Provence, in Spain, in Italy, &c.; not to mention those of England, which are merely raised for the table, and not cultivated, like those abroad, for commercial purposes. Where the climate is congenial to their nature, figs seem to thrive in almost any soil ; but Du- hamel observes, that they produce the most succu- lent fruit when growing among the rocks. They require a certain degree of heat: for although this gentleman saw figs of a monstrous size at Brest, yet they rarely became perfectly ripe for want of the necessary warmth. The trees are generally raised from slips or layers, which readily strike root ; and the manner which is often practised to effect this is simple enough, though rather singular. When it is proposed to propagate the plant by layers, a FIG TREE. 305 branch of the tree is made to pass through a tin funnel, or a wicker basket, filled with earth, into which the branch will soon shoot several fibres ; it should then be cut asunder below the basket, which should afterwards be placed in the earth. W hen it is desired to raise fig trees that will bear fruit the next year, the finest branches of an old tree are laid in the earth, and one of a moderate size is caused to pass through a box, after being stripped of its bark for about a finger’s breadth between two knots. The part so stripped is then placed about four fin- gers’ breadth above the bottom of the box, and co- vered with earth. In due time the branch w ill shoot out several roots from the wounded part, after which it is separated from the stem by cutting it off below the box. Duhamel is of opinion that a good sort of fig, raised in a congenial soil, and perfectly ripe, is one of the best of our eatable fruits. In Languedoc, in Pi ’ovence, in Spain, in Italy, and in the Levant, vast quantities of figs are dried in the sun, and form a considerable article of traffic. The inhabitants of the fig countries eat them in abundance, both fresh and in the dried state; they are indeed said to form •/ a great part of the nourishment of the country peo- ple on the northern coasts of the Mediterranean, and in the isles of the Archipelago. Several of the cultivated species, according to Duhamel, require only the ordinary attention paid to fruit-trees to make them ripen their fruit ; but in the Archipelago, and in Malta, there are figs, VOL. iit. X 306 FIG TREE. both wild and domestic, that require a very singular mode of treatment to make them bring their fruit to perfection ; the assistance vve here allude to is named capriftcation , and is a phenomenon highly deserving our attention. The most satisfactory account of this curious operation is to be found in Tournefort’s Voyage to the Levant, which account has been strengthen- ed by the observations made at Malta, by M. Godeheu, on the same subject. We are informed by M. Tournefort that only two kinds of figs are cultivated in the Archipelago, the domestic and the wild; from the former they gather that fruit which can only be brought to perfection by the assistance of the latter, or wild fig, which has been named caprificus , and in the country ornos. This tree bears successively, in the same year, three sorts of fruit, to w hich the natives of the Archipe- lago have "iven different names. o O The first fruit, which they name fornites , are the autumnal figs ; they appear in August, and fall in September and October. The second figs, called cratitires , are the winter figs, and remain on the trees from September till May; then come the third kind, or spring figs, known in the country by the name of orn'u None of these fruits ripen, but they have a sleek even skin, of a deep green colour, and contain in their dry and mealy inside several male and female flowers, placed upon distinct footstalks, the former above the latter. In the first figs, or fornites, are SO/ FIG TREE. bred small worms which change to a species of cynips*, peculiar to these trees. In October and November, these insects of themselves make a puncture into the second fruit, alter which the au- tumnal tigs fall ; but the winter fruit, or crati tires, remain, as we have observed, till May, and enclose the eggs deposited by the gnats when they pricked them. In May the third sort of fruit, called orni, begin to be produced by the wild fig trees. 1 his is much bigger than the other two ; and when it grows to a certain size, and its bud begins to open, it is pricked in that part by the cynips of the win- ter figs which are strong enough to go from one fruit to another to deposit their eggs. It some- times happens that the insects of the cratitires are slow to come forth in certain parts, while the orni in those very parts are ready to receive them. In this case the husbandman is obliged to look for the cratitires in another part, and fix them at the ends of the branches of those fig trees whose orni are fit to be pricked by the insects. If they miss the op- portunity, the orni fall, and the insects from the winter figs fly away. None but those who are well acquainted with the culture know the critical mo- ment of doing this ; and in order to know it, their eye is perpetually fixed on the bud of the fig ; for that part not only indicates the time that the insects are to issue forth, but also when the fig is to be suc- * Cynips psenes. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. X 2 308 FIG TREE. cessfully pricked: if the bud is too close, the fly cannot deposit its eggs; if, on the contrary, it is too open, the fruit falls to the ground. None of the wild figs are good to eat ; their chief use is to assist in ripening the domestic kind, and the manner in which this is effected is as follows : During the months of June and July', the peasants take the orni at the time their insects are ready to break out, and carry them to the garden fig trees ; if they miss the proper time, the orni fall, and the fruit of the domestic fig will in consequence prove barren, and fall also. The natives are so well ac- quainted with these precious moments, that, every morning, in making their inspection, they only transfer to their garden fig trees such orni as are well conditioned, otherwise they lose their crop. In this case, however, they have one remedy; which is to strew over the garden fig trees another plant in whose fruit there is also a species of insect, which in some measure answers the purpose. The country- men so well understand how to manage their orni, that the flies which proceed from them ripen their domestic figs in the space of forty days. The Greeks cannot be too much admired for the time and patience which they bestow to bring about this singular process. "I hey may be seen, during more than two months of the year, busily employed in transporting the flies from one tree to another : it must be confessed, however, that they are well rewarded for their trouble, since a tree which, left FIG TREE. 309 to itself, will scarcely yield twenty-five pounds oi ripe figs, may, by the assistance of these insects, be made to produce nearly ten times that quantity. It has been observed by M. Godeheu, that capri - fication, though the means of producing a large crop, is injurious to the trees, and prevents their yielding well on the following year. The heat of the sun is not sufficient to dry the figs produced by capri fication. They must be placed in the oven, which gives them a disagreeable taste; but is, nevertheless, very necessary to kill the cynips, which might otherwise produce their larvae and destroy the figs. Caprification, as described by antient authors, is precisely the same operation as is at present per- formed in the Archipelago. All agree in declaring that the wild fig tree, caprificus , never ripened its fruit, but was absolutely necessary for ripening that of the garden or domestic kind, over which the pea- sants suspended its branches. Linnaeus explains this operation, by supposing that the insects brought the farina from the wild fig which contained male flowers only, to the domestic fig, which contained the female ones : but Hasselquist, from what he saw in Palestine, seemed to doubt of this mode of fructi- fication, and M. Bernard has opposed the hypothesis decidedly. He could never find the insect in the cultivated fig; and, in reality, it appeared to leave the wild fig, after the stamina were mature and their pollen dissipated : besides, he adds, w hat they may have brought on their wings must be rubbed away 310 FIG TREE. in the little aperture which they would form for themselves. At Malta, where there are seven or eight varieties of the domestic fig, this operation is only performed on those which ripen latest; the former are of a proper size, fine flavour, and in great abundance without it; so that he thinks the capri- fieation only hastens the ripening, d he probability of this conjecture is strengthened by knowing that the figs in Provence ripen much sooner, for having their buds pricked with a straw dipped in olive oil. There are other kinds of figs growing naturally in the warmer parts of Asia, Africa, and America ; the most part of which produce fruit which are not fit to eat, though many have their uses, and are highly curious in other respects, dhe most in- teresting of these are, The sycamore fig, Ficus syccimorus Linn., which grows to an amazing size, and to a great height. The branches spread so prodigiously, that, accord- ing to Forskal, they sometimes overshadow a circular space of ground equal to forty feet in diameter. The fruit, which grows close to the stem and branches, is pierced in a remarkable manner by an insect. A little below the scales, on the side of the fiower-cup, there appears a spot before the fruit is ripe ; the fruit in this place is affected with a gan- grene which extends on every side, and frequently occupies a finger’s breadth. It withers; the place affected becomes black ; the fleshy substance in the middle of the calyx for the breadth of a quill is cor- roded ; and the male blossoms which are nearest to OT Designed by WDardell . Published by Mefs" Cad ell Sc Davies, London March jsdoy \ Hi*, tlv ' + ♦ s ^ . . ' •!« >- * ; * - ; , ' • • .Wlii'.ii - - ‘ ’ jv ’ 1 app* draucc *$ •». .so foil i, £ insect has i vie a hole hi tin* place very coin ;On its • « •' 1 * *'•' • . • ■■«•< . ' • * ■ e* i • • . . . •» • tt r iV.lrH ’ lie v •> fo h . a i f 1 » jwA ^ t iffisn&Uv ; .. h • •>. • -1 * ■ i • , a **■ y ' V $ It.t * c- -;hes • Af ♦ i ' **ir: ■ 2,k. 6 .H- -•• . t ■ c: : ■ ' ! J . ■ • - t<-. inc* t u » h »ut « ^ ' \<»vr»f/ tfW > hr n h* ' » c, v ii * ■ ■- * : *v;< • ■ < • • - it: V',. . 1 ■ •> j r J-t v, < - ' . 'T-l1 ' • ... v - ll** % 'll-' ;• ’ If wC ■' ' ■< ':v • v . f : ' L I >■»•■*•** v’» »t- - ■ l. _j ‘ : . • > ■ •• / ' ••jitiia • ’ * ii -f- . ■■ ' ; ' : ’ I :l - ■ > : ..... .. ■ . i, 'V • • • •. Yt •: • »?-- ivi- • ■ ■ ■ ** -*• * ■ •• •' - :• ’■ >. . > l - - - * t • - f. . , . . •' ' ■ . .‘vMJl;*: .-• - '• ' ■ * . • • • . k i m** - ' *-• H 4 < - ' 1 - . ; V •J >>-.; ■ * . . -;t • -v«, ■* T* ' f . - ; ■■ ' • t£ . , -i ‘ \ r •" ' * --J * ' • ‘ ; 5! . 1 . •• ,V'- .• ■ } ' I : ..> ■ . . • « r r, « ? *. 'tv-. .-. . . , — , ■ «. )«**-'* . - * » < SiV*’ .*t.; ir-y ' .. •• /-• Sr . *-• ; >vV.Vi Xv .r ’ ’• n *' • • r‘ . • ; r fc-i i * .: . - 0 ; V * ■' r * *?• :• v •• ; : '■Jit:. *V • r.-. • ■ ^ i \ i ‘V • 5 ^ : . v - *' • • ■ *• 1 ?r3C ->! . «M- • — • * ;-r. ’i"y a i * ^ * * 1 • . ; * - FIG TREE. 311 the base side appear naked, opening a way for the insect, which makes several furrows in the inside ol the fruit, but never touches the stigmata, though it frequently eats the germen. The wounded or gan- grenous part is at first covered or shut up by the blossoms ; but the hole is by degrees opened and enlarged of various sizes in the different fruits ; the margins and sides being always gangrenous, black, hard, and turned inwardly. The same gangrenous appearance is also found near the scales, after the insect has made a hole in that place. The tree is very common in the plains and fields of Lower Egypt. It buds in the latter end of March, and the fruit ripens in the beginning of June. It is wounded or cut by the inhabitants at the time it buds ; for without this precaution it is said not to bear fruit. The figs are shaped like the common sort ; they rarely, however, arrive at maturity ; when they do they are eaten by the people, and have a sweet taste, but are said to be digested with difficulty. The Banian Tree (Ficus rcligiosa Linn.) is one of the most striking of Nature’s productions. It is a very singular tree, growing in the stony and sandy districts of the East Indies, where it reaches to a vast height, and spreads its branches in every direction. The banian tree possesses an advantage over the rest of the vegetable creation ; it is enabled to increase without the assistance of seed, by send- ing forth young fibres from time to time, which, finding their way to the earth, take root, and thus 312 FIG TREE. exempt the parent tree from decay. Every branch from the main body throws out its own roots ; at first, in small tender fibres, several yards from the ground : these continually grow thicker till they reach the surface; and there striking in, they in- crease to large trunks, and become like the original tree. Thus is the tree continually increasing; for those newly produced, in time send forth their fibres, and multiply in the same manner. It is not at all surprising that a production of such a singular nature as the present, should become the object of superstitious veneration among the Hin- doos ; they look upon it as an emblem of the Deity, and almost pay it divine honours. Near these trees the most esteemed pagodas are generally erected ; under their shade the bramins spend their lives in religious solitude ; and the natives of all casts and tribes are fond of recreating in the cool recesses, beautiful walks, and lovely vistas of this umbrageous canopy, impervious to the hottest beams of a tropi- cal sun. Tavernier mentions one of these trees as growing in his time at Surat, in the hollow trunk of which was the figure of a monster, representing the face of a deformed female, who, they tell you, was the first woman, and call her Mamanivci. “ To this tree,” says Tavernier, (( great numbers of idolaters every day resort ; near to which there is some bra- min or other always appointed to be ready to say prayers, and receive the alms of rice, millet, and other grains, which the charitable bestow upon them. The bramin marks the forehead of all, both fig tree. 313 men and women, that come to pray in the pagod, with a kind of vermilion, wherewith he also be- smears the idol; for, being thus marked, they believe the evil spirit cannot hurt them, as being then un- der the protection of their god.” A remarkable large tree of this kind is said to grow on an island in the river Nerbedda, ten miles from the city of Baroche, in the province of Gu- zerat. It is distinguished by the name of Cubbeer Burr , which was given it in honour of a famous saint. It was once much larger than at present; but high floods have carried away the banks of the island where it grows, and with them such parts of the tree as had thus far extended their roots ; yet what remains is about two thousand feet in circum- ference, measured round the principal stems ; the overhanging branches not yet struck down, cover a much larger space. The chief trunks of this single tree (which in size greatly exceed our English elms and oaks) amount to three hundred and fifty ; the smaller stems are more than three thousand ; and every one of these is casting out new branches, and hanging roots, in time to form trunks, and become the parents of a future progeny. Cubbeer Burr is famed throughout Hindostan for its great extent and beautiful appearance. The Indian armies ge- nerally encamp around it; and, at stated seasons, solemn jatarras, or Hindoo festivals, are held there, to which thousands of votaries repair from various parts of the Mogul empire. It is said that seven thousand persons find ample room to repose under 314 FIG TREE. its shade. The English gentlemen, on their hunt- ing and shooting parties, used to form extensive en- campments, and spend weeks together under this delightful pavilion, which is generally filled with green wood pigeons, doves, peacocks, and singing birds: large families of monkeys live among its branches, and numbers of enormous bats are seen flitting beneath its ample shade. This tree, in the proper season, is covered with small figs of a scarlet colour, which serve to nourish the numerous inha- bitants that are found within its shelter. BUTTER TREE. This singular tree is, as yet, but very imperfectly known to botanists ; all the information we have hitherto obtained respecting it, being from the ob- servations of Mungo Park, who has figured a branch in his Travels into the Interior of Africa. It ap- pears that the tree is of a moderate size, with long, alternate leaves. It produces a fruit about the size of a walnut, and of an aromatic smell. Within the fruit is a stone containing a kernel the size of an acorn. This slight sketch of its botanical character is all we know at present, except the account Park has given us relating to its singular produce, which cer- tainly ranks it among the first of African vegetables in point of utility. When Park had reached a certain district, he found the people busily employed in collecting the fruit of the shea trees, from which they prepare the vegetable butter. These trees grow in great abun- dance in the part of Bambara through which he was then travelling^. It seems that they are not cultivated by the natives, but are found growing naturally in the woods ; and that in clearing wood land for cultivation, every tree is cut down but the shea. “ The tree itself,” says Park, “ very much BUTTER TREE. 316 resembles the American oak ; and the fruit (from the kernel ot which, being first dried in the sun, the butter is prepared by boiling the kernel in water,) has somewhat the appearance of a Spanish olive. The kernel is enveloped in a sweet pulp, under a thin green rind ; and the butter produced from it, besides the advantage of its keeping the whole year without salt, is whiter, firmer, and, to my palate, ot a richer flavour than the best butter I ever tasted made from cows’ milk. The growth and prepara- tion of this commodity seem to be among the first objects of African industry in this and the neigh- bouring states, and it constitutes the main article of their inland commerce. POISON TREE. It has been long known that particular trees are of a poisonous quality, and occasion the death of such animals as incautiously feed upon them ; but the subject of our present consideration greatly ex- ceeds every other plant in its deleterious effects, and is said even to occasion a barrenness in the ground for a considerable distance round the spot where it grows. We are at a loss to assign its pro- per place in the vegetable system, as neither its class nor order is known : indeed the many appa- rently exaggerated accounts of its wonderful pro- perties, would have made us reject it entirely, had it not been for the authority of M. Foersch, a Dutch naturalist, who has given a very circumstantial ac- count of this singular tree. What this gentleman has said upon the subject has been translated from the original Dutch, and in that state we shall insert it : leaving the reader to make his own comments on the wonderful effects of the plant. M. Foersch tells us that this destructive tree is called in the Malayan language Boliun-Upas , and has been described by naturalists ; but their ac- counts have been so tinctured with the marvellous, that the whole narration has been supposed to be an ingenious fiction by the generality of readers. Nor 318 POISON TKEE. is this iii the least degree surprising, when the cir- cumstances which we shall faithfully relate in this description are considered. “ I must acknowledge,” says M. Foersch, “ that I long doubted the existence of this tree, until a stricter inquiry convinced me of my error: I shall now only relate simple unadorned facts, of which I have been an eye-witness. My readers may de- pend upon the fidelity of this account. In the year 177-1, I was stationed at Batavia, as a surgeon in the service of the East India Company. During my residence there I received several different ac- counts of the Bohun-Upas, and the violent effects of its poison. They all then seemed incredible to me, but raised my curiosity in so high a degree, that I resolved to investigate this subject thoroughly, and to trust only to my own observations. In con- sequence of this resolution I applied to the gover- nor-o'eneral, Mr. Petrus Albertus van der Parra, for a pass to travel through the country: my request was granted; and, having procured every informa- tion, I set out on my expedition. I had procured a recommendation from an old Malayan priest to another priest, who lives on the nearest inhabitable spot to the tree, which is about fifteen or sixteen miles distant. The latter proved of great service to me in my undertaking, as that priest is appointed by the emperor to reside there, in order to prepare for eternity the souls of those who, for different crimes, are sentenced to approach the tree, and to procure the poison. POISON TREE. 319 “ The Bohun-Upas is situated in the island of Java, about twenty-seven leagues from Batavia, fourteen from Soura Charta, the seat of the emperor, and between eighteen and twenty leagues from I inkjoe, the present residence of the sultan of Java. It is surrounded on all sides by a circle of high hills and mountains; and the country round it, to the distance of ten or twelve miles from the tree, is en- tirely barren. Not a tree nor a shrub, nor even the least plant or grass is to be seen. I have made the tour all around this dangerous spot, at about eigh- teen miles distant from the centre, and 1 found the aspect of the country on all sides equally dreary. The easiest ascent of the hills is from that part where the old ecclesiastic dwells. From his house the criminals are sent for the poison, into which the points of all warlike instruments are dipped. It is of high value, and produces a considerable revenue to the emperor. “ The poison which is procured from this tree, is a gum that issues out between the bark and the tree itself, like the camphor. Malefactors, who for their crimes are sentenced to die, are the only persons who fetch the poison ; and this is the only chance they have of saving their lives. After sentence is pronounced upon them bv the judge, they are asked in court, v Mier they will die by the hands of the executioner, or whether they will go to the Uphas tree for a box of poison ? They commonly prefer the latter proposal, as there is not only some chance of preserving their lives, but also a certainty, in 320 POISON TREE. case of their safe return, that a provision will be made for them in future by the emperor. They are also permitted to ask a favour from the em- peror, which is generally of a trifling nature, and commonly granted. They are then provided with a silver or tortoise-shell box, in which they are to put the poisonous gum, and are properly instructed how to proceed while they are upon their danger- ous expedition. Among other particulars, they are always told to attend to the direction of the winds ; as they are to go towards the tree before the wind, so that the effluvia from the tree is always blown from them. They are told likewise, to travel with the utmost dispatch, as that is the only method of insuring a safe return. They are afterwards sent to the house of the old priest, to which place they are commonly attended by their friends and relations. Here they generally remain some days, in expecta- tion of a favourable breeze. During that time the ecclesiastic prepares them for their future fate by prayers and admonitions. “ When the hour of their departure arrives, the priest puts them on a long leather cap, with two glasses before their eyes, which come down as far as their breast ; and also provides them with a pair of leather gloves. They are then conducted by the priest, and their friends and relations, about two miles on their journey. Here the priest repeats his instructions, and tells them where they are to look for the tree. He shows them a hill, which thev are told to ascend, and that on the other side POISON TREE. 321 they will find a rivulet, which they are to follow, and which will conduct them directly to the upas. They now take leave of each other, and, amidst prayers for their success, the delinquents hasten away. “ The worthy old ecclesiastic has assured me, that during his residence there, for upwards ol thirty years, he had dismissed above seven hundred crimi- nals in the manner which I have described ; and that scarcely two out of twenty have returned. He showed me a catalogue of all the unhappy sufferers, with the date of their departure from his house an- nexed ; and a list of the offences for which they had been condemned: to which was added a list of those who had returned in safety. 1 afterwards saw another list of these culprits, at the jail-keeper’s at Soura Charta, and found that they perfectly cor- responded with each other, and with the different informations which I afterwards obtained. “ I was present at some of these melancholy cere- monies, and desired different delinquents to bring with them some pieces of the wood, or a small branch, or some leaves of this wonderful tree. 1 have also given them silk cords, desiring them to measure its thickness. I never could procure more than two dry leaves that were picked up by one of them on his return ; and all 1 could learn from him, concerning the tree itself, was, that it stood on the border of a rivulet, as described by the old priest ; that it was of a middling size ; that five or six young trees of the same kind stood close by it ; vol. hi. v 322 rOISON TREE. bat that no other shrub or plant could be seen near it ; and that the ground was of a brownish sand, full of stones, almost impracticable for travelling, and covered with dead bodies. Alter many con- versations with the old Malayan priest, I questioned him about the first discovery, and asked his opinion of this dangerous tree ; upon which he gave me the following answer : “ 4 We are told in our new Alcoran, that, above a hundred years ago, the country round the tree was inhabited by a people strongly addicted to the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah : when the great prophet Mahomet determined not to suffer them to lead such detestable lives any longer, he applied to God to punish them ; upon which God caused this tree to grow out of the earth, and rendered the count] y for ever uninhabitable.’ “ Such was the Malayan opinion. I shall not at- tempt a comment ; but must observe, that all the Malayans consider this tree as an holy instrument of the great prophet to punish the sins of mankind; and, therefore, to die of the poison of the upas is generally considered among them as an honourable death. For this reason, I also observed that the delinquents who were going to the tree were gene- rally dressed in their best apparel. This, however, is certain, though it may appear incredible, that from fifteen to eighteen miles round this tiee, not only no human creature can exist, but that, in that space of ground, no living animal of any kind has ever been discovered. I have also been assured by POISON TREE. 323 several persons of veracity, that there are no fish in the waters, nor has any rat, mouse, or any other vermin, been seen there; and when any birds fiy so near this tree that the effluvia reaches them, they fall a sacrifice to the effects of the poison. This circumstance has been ascertained by different de- linquents, who, in their return, have seen the birds drop down, and have picked them up dead, and brought them to the old ecclesiastic. I will here mention an instance which proves the fact beyond all doubt, and which happened during my stay at Java. “ In 1//5 a rebellion broke out among the subjects of the massay, a sovereign prince, whose dignity is nearly equal to that of the emperor. They refused to pay a duty imposed upon them by their sovereign, whom they openly opposed. The massay sent a body of a thousand troops to disperse the rebels, and to drive them, with their families, out of his domi- nions. Thus four hundred families, consisting of above sixteen hundred souls, were obliged to leave their native country. Neither the emperor nor the sultan would give them protection, not only because they were rebels, but also through fear of displeas- ing their neighbour, the massay. In this distressful situation they had no other resource than to repair to the uncultivated parts round the upas, and request- ed permission of the emperor to settle there. Their request was granted, on condition of their fixing their abode not more than twelve or fourteen miles from the tree, in order not to deprive the inhabitants, al- 324 POISON TREE. ready settled at a greater distance, of their lands. With this they were obliged to comply; but the consequence was, that in less than two months their number was reduced to about three hundred. The chiefs of those who remained returned to the mas- say, informed him of their losses, and entreated his pardon ; which induced him to receive them again as subjects, thinking them sufficiently punished for their misconduct. I have seen and conversed with several of those who survived, soon after their return. They all had the appearance of persons tainted with an infectious disorder ; they looked pale and weak ; and from the account which they gave of the loss of their comrades, and of the symptoms and circumstances which attended their dissolution, such as convulsions, and other signs of violent death, I was fully convinced that they fell victims to the poison. “ This violent effect of the poison, at so great a distance from the tree, certainly appears surprising, and almost incredible; and especially when we con- sider that it is possible for delinquents who approach the tree to return alive. My wonder, however, in a great measure ceased, after I had made the following observations : “ 1 have said before, that malefactors are instructed to go to the tree with the wind, and to return against the wind. When the wind continues to blow from the same quarter while the delinquent travels thirty or six-and-thirty miles, if he be of a good con- stitution he certainly survives. But what proves POISON TREE. 325 the most destructive is, that there is no dependence on the wind in that part of the world for any length of time. There are no regular land winds ; and the sea wind is not perceived there at all, the situation of the tree being at too great a distance, and surrounded by high mountains and unculti- vated forests. Besides, the wind there never blows a fresh regular gale, but is commonly merely a current of light, soft breezes, which pass through the different openings of the adjoining mountains. It is also frequently difficult to determine from what part of the globe the wind really comes, as it is di- vided by various obstructions in its passage, which easily change the direction of the wind, and often totally destroy its effects. “ I therefore impute the distant effects of the poi- son, in a great measure, to the constant gentle winds in those parts, which have not power enough to disperse the poisonous particles. If high winds were more frequent and durable there, they would certainly weaken very much, and even destroy, the obnoxious effluvia of the poison ; but without them the air remains infected and pregnant with these poisonous vapours. “ I am the more convinced of this, as the worthy ecclesiastic assured me, that a dead calm is always attended with the greatest danger, as there is a con- tinual perspiration issuing from the tree, which is seen to rise and spread in the air, like the putrid steam of a marshy cavern. “ In the year 177G, in the month of February ^ I 326 POISON TREE. was present at the execution of thirteen of the em- peror’s concubines, at Soura Charta, who were con- victed of infidelity to the emperor’s bed. It was in the forenoon, about eleven o’clock, when the fair criminals were led into an open space within the walls of the emperor’s palace. There the judge passed sentence upon them, by which they are doomed to suffer death by a lancet poisoned with upas. After this the Alcoran was presented to them, and they were, according to the law of their great prophet Mahomet, to acknowledge and to af- firm by oath, that the charges brought against them, together with the sentence and their punishment, were fair and equitable. This they did, by laying their right hand upon the Alcoran, their left hands upon their breast, and their eyes lifted towards hea- ven ; — the judge then held the Alcoran to their lips, and they kissed it. cc These ceremonies over, the executioner pro- ceeded on his business in the following manner: Thirteen posts, each about five feet high, had been previously erected. To these the delinquents were fastened, and their breasts stripped naked. In this situation they remained a short time in continual prayers, attended by several priests, until a signal was given by the judge to the executioners; on which the latter produced an instrument much like the spring lancet used by farriers for bleeding horses. With this instrument, it being poisoned with the gum of the upas, the unhappy wretches were lanced in the middle of their breasts, and the POISON TREE. 327 operation was performed upon them all in less than two minutes. “ My astonishment was raised to the highest de- gree, when I beheld the sudden effects of that poi- son; for in about five minutes after they were lanced they were taken with a tremor attended with a sub- sultus tendinum, after which they died in the great- est agonies, crying out to God and Mahomet for mercy. In sixteen minutes by my watch, which I held in my hand, all the criminals were no more. Some hours after their death, I observed their bo- dies full of livid spots, much like those of petechiae, their faces swelled, their colour changed to a kind of blue, their eyes looked yellow, &c. &c. “ About a fortnight after this 1 had an opportu- nity of seeing such another execution at Samarang. Seven Malayans were executed there with the same instrument, and in the same manner; and I found the operation in the poison, and the spots in their bodies, exactly the same. “ These circumstances made me desirous to try an experiment with some animals, in order to be con- vinced of the real effects of this poison ; and as I had then two young puppies, I thought them the fittest objects for my purpose. I accordingly pro- cured with great difficulty some grains of upas. I dissolved half a grain of that gum in a small quan- tity of arrack, and dipped a lancet into it. With this poisoned instrument I made an incision in the lower muscular part of the belly in one of the pup- pies. Three minutes after it received the wound 328 POISON TREE. the animal began to cry out most piteously, and ran as fast as possible from one corner of the room to the other. So it continued during six minutes; when all its strength being exhausted, it fell upon the ground, was taken with convulsions, and died in the eleventh minute. I repeated this experi- ment with two other puppies, with a cat, and a fowl, and found the operation of the poison in all of them the same : none of these animals survived above thirteen minutes. {e I thought it necessary to try also the effect of the poison given inwardly, which I did in the fol- lowing manner : I dissolved a quarter of a grain of the gum in half an ounce of arrack, and made a dog of seven months old drink it. In seven minutes a retching: ensued, and I observed at the same time, that the animal was delirious; as it ran up and down the room, fell on the ground, and tumbled about ; then it rose again, cried out very loud, and about half an hour after was seized with con- vulsions, and died, I opened the body, and found the stomach very much inflamed, as the intestines were in some parts, but not so much as the sto- mach. There was a small quantity of coagulated blood in the stomach ; but I could discover no orifice from which it could have issued ; and there- fore supposed it to have been squeezed out of the lungs, by the animal’s straining while it was vo- miting. “ From these experiments I have been convinced that the gum of the upas is the most dangerous POISON TREE. 329 and most violent of all vegetable poisons ; and I am apt to believe that it greatly contributes to the un- healthiness of that island. Nor is this the only evil attending it : hundreds of the natives ol Java, as well as Europeans, are yearly destroyed and treach- erously murdered by that poison, either internally or externally. Every man of quality or fashion has his dagger or other arms poisoned with it ; and in times of war, the Malayans poison the springs and other waters with it : by this treacherous practice the Dutch suffered greatly during the last war, as it occasioned the loss of half their army. For this reason they have ever since kept fish in the springs of which they drink the water, and sentinels are placed near them, who inspect the waters every hour, to see whether the fish are alive. If they march with an army or body of troops into an enemy’s country, they always carry live fish with them, which they throw into the water some hours before they venture to drink it ; by which means they have been able to prevent their total destruc- tion. This account, I flatter myself, will satisfy the curiosity of my readers ; and the few facts which I have related will be considered as a certain proof of the existence of this pernicious tree, and its pene- trating effects. “ If it be asked why we have not yet any more satisfactory accounts of this tree, I can only answer, that the object of most travellers in that part of the world consists more in commercial pursuits than in the study of natural history and the advancement 330 POISON TREE. of sciences. Besides, Java is so universally reputed an unhealthy island, that rich travellers seldom make any long stay in it ; and others want money, and are generally too ignorant of the language to travel in order to make inquiries. In future those who visit this island will now probably be induced to make it an object of their researches, and will furnish us with a fuller description of the tree.” Doctor Aejmelaeus, who has likewise given some account of the poison tree in an Inaugural Disser- tation published at Upsal, nearly agrees with M. Foersch ; and says, that the tree is always solitary, the soil around it being barren, and, as it were, burnt up. It appears from his account that the juice is collected with the greatest caution, the per- son having his head, hands, and feet carefully co- vered with linen, that his whole body may be pro- tected from the vapour as well as from the drop- pings of the tree. No one can approach so near as to gather the juice: hence they apply bamboos, pointed like a spear, which they thrust obliquely with great force into the trunk; the juice oozing out gradually fills the upper joint ; and the nearer the root the wound is made, the more virulent the poison is supposed to be. Sometimes upwards of twenty reeds are left fixed in the tree for three or four days, that the juice may collect and harden in the cavities ; the upper joint of the reed is then cut off from the remaining part, the concreted juice is formed into globules or sticks, and is kept in hol- low reeds, carefully closed, and wrapped in tenfold POISON TREE. 331 linen. It is taken out every week to prevent it spoiling by becoming mouldy. The dried juice is of a dark brown colour, and liquefies by heat, like other resins. Its deleterious quality appears to be of a volatile nature, since it loses much of its power after being kept for a twelvemonth, and in the course of a few years becomes quite ineffectual. MINERALS. Under this head are classed all those materials which form the basis of our globe, and are hidden within the bowels of the earth. We have hitherto Considered only those objects which present them- selves to our notice on the surface, and which, like us, depend for their existence on a proper supply of air : but we are now to leave the animated part of the creation, and descend to the interior of the globe, in order to investigate some of those curiosi- ties which nothing but persevering industry could ever have brought to light. The different parts of the mineral kingdom have been arranged under four heads ; viz. earths and stones , salts, combustible matters , and metals. These various substances are met with in different states ; sometimes they appear under the form of rude masses, of no determinate shape, sometimes in beds composed of layers running either in a horizontal or oblique direction ; and this last disposition by beds is observed to be by far the most frequent. 334 MINERALS. Both the masses and beds of minerals exhibit va- rieties in their formation : some appear to have been composed of crystals mixed together in a con- fused manner, and united without any apparent at- tention to figure ; such are the stones generally known by the name of granite, porphyry, statuary marble, See. We observe that these stones are al- ways situated beneath every other, and that they never enclose any remains either of the animal or vegetable kingdom. Many layers are of a more homogeneous texture, and of a finer grain : they rather appear as if de- posited like a sediment, than formed by any at- tention to regularity in their structure. These beds, or layers, are always placed either mediately or immediately above the others, and frequently contain the remains of organized substances: among them may be noticed slate, lime-stone, plaster, and most of the coloured marbles. A third kind remains to be mentioned, which is supposed to derive its origin from the wreck of the first and second. This is found in the shape either of sand or pebbles; and although it does not appear to have any determinate relative place, it is never- theless commonly found upon the surface of the two former. To these three kinds of earth may yet be added a fourth, which, in its nature, and certainly in its origin, is very different from the three preceding. This is daily formed in many parts of the world ; and being ejected from the bowels of burning MINERALS. 335 mountains, has justly obtained the name of volcanic earth. The first order we have noticed, such as the granite, porphyry, statuary marble, &c. from their being situated below the others, are supposed to have been formed before them, and therefore take the name of primitive earths . The layers above these are the secondary earths : after them follow the third series, and then the volcanic earths. These four kinds, either in a separate or united state, give figure, and various degrees of solidity, to the different mountains. The mountains which are formed of primitive layers are generally pointed. Those which partake of a volcanic origin are almost conical, whilst the mountains composed of beds of the second or third kind are either flat on their summits, or round on all sides. Layers composed of the two first kinds of earth are often interrupted by slits or cracks, some of which are empty, while others are filled with stony or metallic substances, differing in their nature from the component parts of the beds through which they pass. These cracks by the miners are called veins , and are found to run in several directions, and with different degrees of inclination. Buffo n remarks, that in plains, the strata, or beds of mineral substances, are exactly horizontal. “ It is in mountains only,” says this naturalist, “ that they are inclined to the horizon; because they have originally been formed by sediments deposited upon an inclined base. 336 MINERALS. “ The beds of calcareous matters are not only horizontal in the plains, but likewise in all moun- tains which have not been disturbed by earthquakes or other accidental causes : and when the strata are inclined, the whole mountain is likewise inclined, and has been forced into that position by a subter- raneous explosion, or by the sinking of a part of the earth, which had served it as a basis. We may therefore conclude, in general, that all strata formed by the sediments of water are horizontal, like the water itself, except those which have been formed on an inclined base, as is the case with the most part of coal-mines.” If these judicious remarks by the Count de Ruffon could possibly require confirmation, they would receive it from observing the disposition of the strata of flint described by Sir H. Engle- field in the sixth volume of the Linnaean Trans- actions. In a chalk-pit in the Isle of Wight, close to the village of Carisbrook, there are several layers of flint from six to nine inches deep, separated from each other by intermediate strata of chalk, from two to nine feet in thickness. The flints are formed in the usual manner and of different sizes ; but what constitutes the singularity is, that instead of lying in a horizontal direction, as we find them in other pits, they are all inclined to the horizon in an angle of at least sixty-seven degrees. On examining the pit with attention, Sir Henry was astonished to find that every flint, though lying in its place, and re- minerals. 337 taining perfectly its original shape, was more or less burst and shattered ; some few were only split into large pieces, but the greater part were broken into small fragments, and some absolutely reduced to im- palpable powder. Sir Henry observes, that about two hundred yards below this pit* and near to Carisbrook vil- lage, the road is in part cut through the chalk, and the beds of flint exposed by that means, ex- hibit the same appearances as those in the pit above. Salts exist in the earth in different states and in different forms ; they are naturally without colour, and are more disposed to crystallize than other minerals. Under this head we And the vegetable, mineral, and Volatile alkalis, with their combina- tions, forming saltpetre,* sal-gem, &c. The vriflarnm&ble substances include all the bitu- minous minerals, sUch as the different kinds of coal, naphtha, petroleum, amber, &c. But of all the mineral bodies,' the metals which compose the last class are of the most importance to mankind. These are found 1ft the bowels of the earth, often at a very considerable depth, from whence they are raised at great expense, and sometimes at the hazard of the workmen's lives. They are either disposed in great masses, or formed in veins, or layers,- sometimes parallel to the beds of earthy materials in the moun- tains which enclose them ; at other times cutting VOL. hi. z 338 MINERALS. those beds in various directions, and almost always under a considerable angle. o “ Metallic veins,” says M. Eller, u are found only in elevated places in a long chain of moun- tains. This chain of mountains is always supported by a basis of hard rock. As long as this rock pre- serves its continuity7, there is no chance of discover- ing metallic veins : but when we meet with crevices or fissures, we then entertain hopes of finding metal. Mineralogists have remarked that, in Germany, the most favourable situation is when the mountains rise gradually, stretch towards the south-east, and, after attaining their greatest elevation, descend gently to- wards the north-west. “ It is generally in a rugged rock,” continues M. Eller, “ the extent of which is often unlimited, but split into fissures, that metals are found some- times pure, but generally in the state of ores. These fissures are commonly encrusted with a white shining substance, called quartz by the miners: this is generally accompanied with a substance not un- like it in appearance, but softer, called spar. These two coverings serve as a sheath for the vein. The more perpendicular the vein, the more is to be ex- pected from it. Whenever the miners find a per- pendicular vein, they say that it will be very pro- ductive. “ In proportion as the miners descend the fis- sures which furnish the metal, the air is always warmer ; and the exhalations are sometimes so MINERALS. 339 •abundant, and so noxious, that, in order to avoid suffocation, the miners are obliged to fly to the pits or galleries, otherwise they would be instantly destroyed by the arsenical and sulphureous par- ticles. Sulphur and arsenic are commonly found in the four imperfect, and in all the semimetals, and it is from these they receive their metallic form.” It is not the noxious vapours alone that the miners have to contend with, as they equally run the hazard of having a portion of the mine fall upon them and burying them in the ruins. This accident of course is more likely to occur in some situations than in others, and especially in mines where the looking-glass lead ore, or, as the miners call it, slickensides, abounds. The curious account of this mineral which Mr. Whitehurst, in his Ob- servations on the Strata of Derbyshire, has given us, will point out the necessity of mining with caution in its neighbourhood. u To what has been said of earthquakes,” says Mr. Whitehurst, “ I shall here add an account of a subterraneous explosion, which happens from a very obscure cause, in a sort of fossil called the s lie ken- sides. This stone has the appearance of black marble, and breaks when the explosion happens, with a polished surface not truly plane, but lying- in waves. It is found in fissures of lime-stone in Haycliff and Lady wash mines at Eyam, and in Oden, at Castleton in Derbyshire. It is divided into two equal parts or slabs, by a line parallel to 340 MINERALS. the sides of the fissure, and these slabs are joined by two polished faces, which seem to be in perfect contact without any cohesion. The surfaces are coloured with lead ore, but as thin as a covering from a black lead pencil, If a sharp-pointed tool, which the workmen call a pick, is drawn over the vein with some force, the minerals begin to crackle, like sulphur excited to electricity; in a few minutes after which they explode with violence, and fly out as if they had been blasted with gunpowder, inso- much that the weight of forty tons have been blown out together. These dangerous effects deterred the workmen from proceeding for several years ; but at length it occurred to them, that this power might be used for tbe carrying on of their work with bet- ter advantage than by tbe common method of blasting with gunpowder, Accordingly a workman makes a scratch with his pick upon the joint of the slickensides, and runs away as fast as he can, to escape the explosion, which perhaps loosens as much of the rock as ten men would have brought O away in three months by the ordinary methods. In the mines where this phenomenon occurs, the workmen were much alarmed on the first of No- vember, 175o, about ten o’clock in the morning, the time of the earthquake so fatal at Lisbon. The rocks which surrounded them were so much dis- turbed, that soil, &c. fell from their joints or fissures, and they heard violent explosions as of cannon, for fear of which they fled to the surface ; and, when all was quiet, were surprised to find that nothing MINERALS. 341 material had happened under ground. It is pro- bable that the shock of the earthquake had disturbed some of the slickenside mineral far under ground, and occasioned it to part and explode.” The presence of minerals in the earth is said to be indicated by several circumstances, though we believe none of them are to be much depended on. Among others may be mentioned the rolling stones found in the torrents; veins without metal, but composed of stones coloured by metallic oxides ; waters holding in solution metallic salts ; but above all, a just knowledge of the general constitution of the earth. This knowledge is certainly of con- siderable importance to the finding of metal in a district where it is supposed to exist, as it runs more readily through some strata than others. In Derbyshire, which abounds in lead mines, the strata of earths and stones where the mineral is found are arranged in the following order : 1. A layer of sandstone of a considerble thickness, but subject to vary. 2. A bed of friable slate of 4 or 500 feet in thick- ness. 3. A bed of calcareous earth filled with shells : it is of a black colour, and from 100 to 150 feet thick. 4. A bed of toadstone, which varies from 40 to loo feet in thickness. 5. A second calcareous layer full of marine pro- ductions, and about 100 feet thick. 342 MINERALS. 6. A second layer of toadstone of 130 feet in thickness. 7. A third calcareous bed like the second, but double the thickness. 8. A third layer of toadstone, like the two others, 66 feet in thickness. 9. A fourth bed of calcareous matter, which has been penetrated 200 feet without reaching the bot- tom. The veins which run in these different beds pursue a very regular course, and are from three to twenty feet thick. They run either in a per- pendicular, or oblique direction ; a very few are hori- zontal. It is remarked that the nature of the veins change according to the beds through which they pass, and that they disappear entirely in the toad- stone. The veins in the beds of sandstone and slate are without metal : in the four calcareous layers, on the contrary, they are always very rich, but the mineral constantly disappears when cut off by the beds of toadstone ; though, notwithstanding this in- terruption, it appears again and continues its course in the calcareous layers. The various layers of earth which are seen as men descend into a mine, differ in their quality in different parts of the world, but all show in some of their strata the particular metal for which the mine has been dug. Gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, and every other metallic substance which we meet with in the bowels of the earth, has a very MINERALS. 343 different appearance in its native state from what it is afterwards taught to assume hy human industry. The variety of substances indeed which compose the internal parts of our globe, is productive of equal varieties both above and below its surface. The combination of the different minerals with each other, the heats which arise from their mix- ture, the vapours they diffuse, the tires which they generate, or the colds which they sometimes pro- duce, are all either noxious or salutary to man. Of these it must be confessed, that the major part are pernicious, and many of them destructive, to the poor wretches who are employed in the mining business. It is only necessary to notice the com- plexion of most miners, to be satisfied of the un- wholesomeness of the place where they are confined. Their pale and sallow looks show how much they suffer from the closeness of their habitation and the many noxious vapours to which they are exposed. We are told that in the quicksilver mines near the town of Idria, in the province of Carniola, in Germany, nothing can exceed the deplorable ap- pearance of the miners. The hospital belonging to the place is said to be full of them, in an ema- ciated and crippled state, with contracted and pa- ralytic limbs. Dr. Pope, who has given an ac- count of these mines in the second volume of the Abridgement of the Philosophical Transactions, mentions one man who was not in the mines above half a year, and yet whose body was so impreg- nated with quicksilver, that putting a piece of brass 344 MINERALS. money in bis mouth, or rubbing it between his fingers, it immediately became as white as if it had been washed over with that metal. In such a situation it is not surprising that the workmen should be frequently destroyed, and that sooner or later most of them should be killed; but it is a matter of much astonishment that men should be found, who for a trifling reward will expose them- selves to almost certain death while they can get employment of a less hazardous nature. Among the formidable evils which miners in general have to contend with, may be reckoned the noxious gases which are found in mines, dhese are chiefly inflammable air (hydrogenous gas) and fixed air (carbonic acid gas) ; they are both very dangerous companions where they abound, and are equally fatal, though they act in different ways. The former frequently plays upon the surface of the water which is found at the bottom of some mines, and immediately takes fire when a torch is presented to it. If the quantity is small the con- sequences are not to be dreaded ; but if it abounds, as is the case in some mines, and a light be inadver- tently brought near, the whole explodes with the violence of gunpowder, and blows every thing be- fore it. On this account steel mills have been in- troduced into mines, which give out sparks of fire in sufficient abundance for the workmen to see by without running any hazard, as inflammable air will not explode from a spark of this sort. Fixed air is of a nature directly opposite to, that MINERALS. 345 which we have just described ; for instead of ex- ploding when a torch is presented to it, this gas im- mediately extinguishes the light. It prevails on the surface of all fermenting liquors, as well as in many mines, and has been known to prove fatal to persons who have incautiously descended into the vats of large breweries. In subterranean places that have been deprived of a free circulation of air, or that have been wholly shut up for any length of time, this pernicious gas is very apt to occur; and as an instance of its fatal effects we shall mention a circumstance which is recorded of some unfortunate persons in Scotland. Some colliers, working near an old mine that had been long closed up, happened inadvertently to open a hole into it from the pit where they were then employed. By great good fortune, they at that time perceived their error, and instantly fled for their lives. The next day, however, they were resolved to renew their work in the same pit, and eight of them ventured down without any great apprehensions ; but they had scarcely got to the bottom of the stairs that led to the pit, w hen, com- ing within the vapour, they all instantly dropped down as if they had been shot. Amongst these unfortunate poor men, there was one whose wife was informed that he was stiffled in the mine ; and as he happened to be next the entrance, she so far ventured down as to see where he lay. As she ap- proached the place, the sight of her husband in- spired her with a desire to rescue him, if possible. 346 MINERALS. from that dreadful situation, though a little re- flection might have shown her it was then too late. But nothing could deter her; she ventured forward, and had scarcely touched him with her hand when the damp prevailed, and the misguided, but faithful creature, fell dead by his side. This fatal vapour, though as invisible as com- mon air, is much heavier, and therefore always floats near the surface of the earth, or immediately upon any thing from whence it may be extricated. This tendency of carbonic acid gas to occupy the lowest place, is particularly evident in the famous grotto del Cane, near the lake d’ Agnano, in the neighbourhood of Naples. This natural curiosity is said to be situated on the side of a hill, and that, for the amusement of travellers, persons attend at the cave with dogs, which in their turns suffer a temporary death, from which they recover to the astonishment of the spectators. We are assured that the poor animals always seem sensible of the approach of a stranger, and endeavour to get out of the way : however, their attempts being per- ceived, they are taken and brought to the grotto, the noxious effects of which they have so fre- quently experienced. Upon entering this place, which is a little cave, or hole, dug into the hill, about eight feet high and twelve feet long, the ob- server can see no visible marks of its pestilential vapour, only to about a foot from the bottom the wall seems to be tinged with a colour resem- bling that which is given to stagnant waters. When MINERALS. 347 the dog is held above this mark he does not seem to feel the smallest inconvenience ; but when his head is thrust down lower, he struggles to get free for a little ; but in the space of four or five minutes he seems to lose all sensation, and is taken out seemingly without life. From this perilous situa- tion, however, he quickly recovers, on being plunged into the neighbouring lake ; from whence he is permitted to run home and remain till his turn comes round again. ' ■ Calcareous earth fixe ' by \ ber. Oiaphar-ms ; brrb -■••••. >»•.• »f »u J ,.r • 4"' 1 *'• , • *}; s’ : 1 *(•'-* v* i » %/ •* . # f - .*»• , * m* - > - - . t ' J Pr , ,< • . sem;-. *' * l . " • it Cites : y tioil • sc:- - . ■ ' »- n ■> i 1 " : :■?. u* v >.*/ t •• H it.* - 1 ‘ • 1 t » 8 JH {* "iZ r ti-lv. - . o: ' . , [i ri ‘ t r»J v4.,iclu .L' * * ' •i a', • ... .... •?.. 1 :>■ ; '• '' ‘W’ :t4 . - ....... - •”»* -■ * yf *••• - . • V • — . • , • , . ■ ■ . ' *. i i; . ■- • •• ■ • '■ •. • *• :. ■* !. . . : -"I • .)■ '.■> * •• . .... . r .- • - • - — ' i . . . . . ' • f : • i •r- - i*. * -•-* * -- •♦***•“■ • . .» • *. i • .* } ’ 4 - 4 . - i , • ( ‘ it-'* ■ " ••• ' - . • • ■ , -v . - > ■. -• ir; •••; •• .. i .■ .. v .i . +•**»*■ *. »■> ...» . -*• ... ... .- v . ■ ■ ■ — ‘ •*. v. : »* a . j - m' i > . . *' ■ ■ > 1* ; : j , ■ ; m . STALACTITES. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calcareous earth fixed by water. Diaphanous ; breaking into fragments of no determinate shape; fracture, when solid, striated ; stria? generally diverging from the centre. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Stalactites spatosus. St. pendulus intus lamellosus diapha- nus. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 100. Pendulous stalactite, lamellated within, semi-pellucid. Stalactites solidus particulis spatosis. Cronst. Miner. 1. p. 31. Spatum molle ex aqua distillante gene- ratum. Carth. Miner. 13. Stalactites. . . . Kirw. Miner. 1. p. 88. Patrin. Hist. des Miner. 3. p. 122. We occasionally meet with cylindrical pieces of spar attached to the roofs of large caverns, and having the appearance of icicles of different sizes. These are called stalactites, or drop stones, and are formed of chalk, ( carbonate of lime,) which the 350 STALACTITES. water deposits as it drips from the roof. Where clusters of these sparry concretions are collected to- gether, they frequently form grotesque figures, and furnish the curious traveller with ideas of animals, vegetables, &c. These mineral substances are met with only in calcareous soils, where the water which li Iters through the roofs of the caverns is charged with a quantity of carbonate of lime. The contact of the air and the evaporation which results, pre- cipitates the stony matter, and the drops of water, when they fall to the bottom of the cavern, leave at first merely a little calcareous ring behind them, which increases by degrees till it is changed into a tube with very thin sides. All those who have visited the caverns where the stalactites abound, agree that while they continue tubular their exter- nal surface is perfectly dry, and that the drop which is seen depending from the extremity of each stone comes from the interior. In proportion as the ca- vitv of the tube diminishes by the addition of fresh 1/ particles of carbonate of lime, the water becomes obstructed in its passage, till at length the channel being completely filled up it can no longer find a passage that way, and therefore drops from the out- side. The deposition of earthy matter still conti- nuing in the same degree, soon alters the cylindrical © ° figure of the stalactite, and gives its surface a waved and rude appearance, which, when attentively exa- mined, displays the angles of a multitude of little crystals. The water that drops from the stalactites is still STALACTITES. 351 charged with a portion of carbonate of lime, which it deposits either on the bottom or the sides of the cavern, and which, when it is formed of small thin plates, and has the appearance of a vegetable, is called stalagmite. When the same concretion is found in a great mass firm enough to be cut and polished, it is called alabaster. It is evident that the composition of these different bodies is the same, and that they are distinguished only by form and situation. Before the nature of these sparry bodies was known, they were supposed by many to be petrified vegetables, and this supposition may readily be ex- cused when we consider the varied manner in which they are grouped in their native caverns, and attend to their internal structure. All stalactites have a sort of bark, which varies in thickness, and their interior presents an appearance of organization which resembles petrified wood. This resemblance is the more striking when the layers are of two dif- ferent colours. If we cut a stalactite lengthways, it displays the longitudinal fibres of wood ; if trans- versely, the concentric circles reminds us of the an- nual growth of vegetables ; while the tube in the middle, which is generally of a colour and substance rather different from the rest of the stalactite, repre- sents the pith of the tree. ’oducing stalactites; they are likewise formed in other large caverns in different parts of Europe, but no where, we believe, in such abundance, or in so beautiful a Pools-hole in Derbyshire is famous for pi 352 STALACTITES. manner as in the Grotto of Antiparos. This im- mense place, which continues in an inclined di- rection for 150 feet from the opening, and which is 200 feet high and 250 broad, is studded on all sides by sparry incrustations of a gigantic size. Antiparos is a little island in the Archipelago, about sixteen miles in circumference, and separated from Paros merely by a narrow channel. The ca- vern is situated a few miles within the island, and we are said to owe its discovery to Magni, an Italian traveller, who has given such an account of this wonderful place as would hardly be credited, if it had not been confirmed by subsequent visitors. “ Having been informed,” says Magni, “ by the natives of Paros, of a gigantic statue that was to be seen in the little island of Antiparos, it was resolved that we (the French consul and himself) should pay it a visit. In pursuance of 1 his resolution, after we had landed in the island, and walked about four miles through the midst of beautiful plains and sloping woodlands, we at length came to a little hill, on the side of which yawned a most horrid cavern, that with its gloom at first struck us with terror, and almost repressed curiosit}^. Recovering the first surprise, however, we entered boldly ; and had not proceeded above twenty paces, when the supposed statue of a giant presented itself to our view. We quickly perceived that what the igno- rant natives had been terrified at as a giant was no- thing more than a sparry concretion, formed by the water dropping from the roof of the cave, and by STALACTITES. 353 degrees hardening into a figure that their fears had o O O formed into a monster. Incited by this extraordi- nary appearance, we were induced to proceed stiil further, in quest of new adventures, in this sub- terranean abode. As we proceeded new wonders offered themselves: the spars, formed into trees and shrubs, presented a kind of petrified grove ; some white, some green, and all receding in due per- spective. They struck us with the more amaze- ment as we knew them to he mere productions of Nature, who, hitherto in solitude, had, in her play- ful moments, dressed the scene as if for her own amusement. se But we had as yet seen but few of the wonders of the place, and were introduced only into the portico of this amazing temple. In one corner of this half illuminated recess, there appeared an opening of about three feet wide, which seemed to lead to a place totally dark, and that one of the na- tives assured us contained nothing more than a re- servoir of water. Upon this we tried, by throwing down some stones, which rumbled along the sides of the descent for some time, and seemed at last quashed in a bed of water. In order, however, to be more certain, we sent in a Levantine mariner, who, by the promise of a good reward, with a flambeau in his hand ventured into this narrow aperture. After continuing in it for about a quarter of an hour, he returned, carrying some beautiful pieces of white spar in his hand, which art could neither imitate nor equal. Upon being informed VOL. III. 2 A 354 STALACTITES. by him that the place was full of these beautiful incrustations, 1 ventured in with him for about fifty paces, anxiously and cautiously descending by a steep and dangerous way. Finding, however, that we came to a precipice which led into a spacious amphitheatre, if I may so call it, still deeper than any other part, we returned, and being provided with a ladder, flambeaux, and other things to ex- pedite our descent, our whole company, man by man, ventured into the same opening, and de- scending one after another, we at last saw ourselves all together in the most magnificent part of the cavern. u Our candles being now all lighted up, and the whole place completely illuminated, never could the eye be presented with a more glittering or a more magnificent scene. The roof all hung with solid icicles, transparent as glass, yet solid as mar- ble. The eye could scarcely reach the lofty and noble ceiling ; the sides were regularly formed with spars ; and the whole presented the idea of a mag- nificent theatre, illuminated with an immense pro- fusion of lights. The floor consisted of solid mar- ble ; and in several places, magnificent columns, thrones, altars, and other objects appeared, as if Na- ture had designed to mock the curiosities of art. Our voices, upon speaking or singing, were re- doubled to an astonishing loudness ; and upon the firing of a gun, the noise and reverberations weie almost deafening. In the midst of this grand am- phitheatre rose a concretion of about fifteen feet STALACTITES. 355 high, that in some measure resembled an altar; from which, taking the hint, w7e caused mass to he celebrated there. The beautiful columns that shot up round the altar appeared like candlesticks ; and many other natural objects represented the cus- tomary ornaments of this sacrament. “ Below even this spacious grotto there seemed another cavern, down which I ventured with my former mariner, and descended about fifty paces by means of a rope. I at last arrived at a small spot of level ground, where the bottom appeared different from that of the amphitheatre, being composed of a soft clay, yielding to pressure, and in which i thrust a stick to about six feet deep. In this, however, as above, numbers of the most beautiful crystals were formed, one of which particularly resembled a ta- ble. Upon our egress from this amazing cavern, we perceived a Greek inscription upon a rock at the mouth, but so obliterated by time that we could not read it. It seemed to import that one Antipater, in the time of Alexander, had come hither, but whether he penetrated into the depths of the cavern he does not think fit to inform us.” Tournefort, in the year 1700, descended into this cavern, and has endeavoured, from what he saw7 there, to establish his hypothesis of the vegetation of stones. In his Voyage to the Levant he has given a very particular description of the place, which, however, has been superseded by one that appeared in the British Magazine for the year 174b, signed with the name of Saunders. As this ac- 2 a 2 STALACTITES. obii count tends to confirm what Magni has said, and is, at the same time, the most circumstantial de- scription extant of this wonderful collection of sta- lactites, we shall avail ourselves of the opportunity to insert it. Speaking of the grotto, Mr. Saunders savs: “ its entrance lies in the side of a rock, about two miles from the sea-shore, and is a spacious and very large arch, formed of rough craggy stones, overhung with brambles and a great many climb- ing plants, that give it a gloominess that is very awful and agreeable. Our surgeon, myself, and four passengers, attended by six guides with lighted torches, entered this cavern about eight o’clock in the morning, in the middle of August last. We had not gone twenty yards in this cavity when we lost all sight of day-light ; but our guides going be- fore us with lights, we entered into a low narrow kind of alley, surrounded every way with stones all glittering like diamonds by the light of our torches; the whole being covered and lined throughout with small crystals, which gave a thousand various co- lours by their different reflections. This alley grows lower and narrower as one goes on, till at length one can scarce get along it. At the end of this passage we were each of us presented with a rope, to tie about our middles ; which when we had done, our guides led us to the brink of a most horrible precipice. The descent into this was quite steep, and the place all dark and gloomy. W e could see nothing, in short, but some ot our guides with torches in a miserable dark place, at a vast STALACTITES. 357 distance below us. The dreadful depth of this place, and the horror of the descent through a miserable darkness into it, made me look to the lane of diamonds, if I may so call it, through which we had just passed ; and I could not but think I was leaving heaven to descend into the infernal regions. The hope of something fine at my jour- ney’s end tempted me, however, to trust myself to the rope and my guides at the top to let myselt down. After about two minutes dangling in this posture, not without much pain as well as terror, I found myself safe at the bottom, and our friends all soon followed the example. When we had con- gratulated here with one another on our safe de- scent, 1 was inquiring where the grotto, as they m called it, was. Our guides, shaking their heads, told us, we had a great way to that yet ; and led us forward about thirty yards under a roof of ragged rocks, in a scene of terrible darkness, and at a vast depth from the surface of the earth, to the brink of another precipice much deeper and more terrible than the former. Two of the guides went down here with their torches first, and by their light we could see that this passage was not so per- pendicular indeed as the other, but lay in a very steep slant, with a very slippery rock for the bot- tom ; vast pieces of rough rugged rooks jutting out in many places on the right hand, in the descent, and forcing the guides sometimes to climb over, sometimes to creep under them, and sometimes round them ; and on the left a thousand dark ca- 358 STALACTITES. verns, like so many monstrous wells, ready, if a foot should slip, to swallow them up for ever. We stood on the edge, to see these people with their lights descend before us ; and were amazed and terrified to see them continue descending till they seemed at a monstrous and most frightful depth. When they were at the bottom, however, they hal- looed to us ; and we, trembling and quaking, be- gan to descend after them. We had not gone thirty feet down, when we came to a place where the rock was perfectly perpendicular ; and a vast cavern seemed to open its mouth to swallow us up on one side, while a wall of rugged rock threatened to tear us to pieces on the other. I was quite dis- heartened at this terrible prospect, and declared I m would go back ; but our guides assured us there was no danger ; and the rest of the company resolving to see the bottom now they were come so far, I would not leave them : so on we went to a corner, where there was placed an old slippery and rotten ladder, which hung down close to the rock; and down this, one after another, we at length all de- scended. When we had got to the bottom of this we found ourselves at' the entrance of another pas- sage, which was terrible enough indeed, but in this there was not wanting something of beauty. I his was a wide and gradual descent ; at the entrance ot which one of our guides seated himself on his breech, and began to slide down, telling us we must do the same. We could discover, hy the light of his torch, that this passage was one of the STALACTITES. 35[) noblest vaults in the world. It is about nine feet high, seven wide, and has for its bottom a fine green glossy marble. The walls and arch of the roof of this being as smooth and even in most places as if wrought by art, and made of a fine glistering white and red granite, supported here and there with columns of a deep blood-red shining porphyry, made, with the reflection of the lights, an appear- ance not to be conceived. This passage is at least forty yards long ; and of so steep a descent, that one has enough to do, when seated on one’s breech, not to descend too quickly : our guides that we kept with us could here keep on each side of us ; and what with the prodigious grandeur and beauty of the place, our easy travelling through it, and the diversion of our now and then running over one an- other whether we would or not, this was much the pleasantest part of our journey. When we had en- tered this passage, I imagined we should at the bottom join the two guides we had first set down ; but, alas! when we were got there, we found our- selves only at the mouth of another precipice, dowm which we descended by another ladder not much better than the former. 1 could have admired this place also, would my terror have suffered me; but the dread of falling kept all my thoughts employed during my descent. I could but observe, however, as my companions were coming down after me, that the wall, if I may so call it, which the ladder hung by, was one mass of blood-red marble, covered with white sprigs of rock crystal as long as my finger. STALACTITES. 3 CO and making with the glow of the purple from be- hind one continued immense sheet of amethysts. From the foot of this ladder we shded on our bellies through another shallow vault of green and white marble, about twenty feet; and at the bottom of this joined our guides. “ Here we all got together once again and drank some rum to give us courage before we proceeded any further. After this short refreshment, we pro- ceeded by a straight but somewhat slanting passage, of a rough, hard, and somewhat coarse stone, full of a thousand strange figures of snakes rolled round, and looking as if alive; but, in reality, as cold and hard as the rest of the stone, and nothing but some of the stone itself in that shape. We walked pretty easily along this descent for near two hundred yards, where wre saw two pillars seemingly made to support the roof from falling in ; but, in reality, it was no such thing, for they were very brittle, and made of a fine glittering yellow marble. When we had passed these about two hundred yards, we found ourselves at the brink of another very ter- rible precipice; but this our guides assured us was the last ; and there being a very good ladder to go down by, we readily ventured. At the bottom of this steep wall, as I may call it, we found ourselves for some wray upon plain even ground ; but after about forty yards walking were presented by our guides with ropes again, which we fastened about our middles, though not to be swung down by, but only for fear of danger, as there are lakes and deep STALACTITES. 361 waters all the way from hence on the left hand. With this caution, however, we entered the last valley, and horrible work it was indeed to get through it. All was perfectly horrid and dismal here. The sides and roof of the passage were all of black stone ; and the rocks in our way in some places so steep that we were forced to lie all along on our backs, and slide down ; and so rough that they cut our clothes, and bruised us miserably in passing. Over our heads there were nothing but ragged black rocks, some of them looking as if they were every moment ready to fall in upon us; and, on our left hands, the light of our guides’ torches showed us continually the surfaces of dirty and miserable-looking lakes of water. If I had heartilv repented of my expedition often before, here, I as- sure you, I was all in a cold sweat, and fairlv gave myself over for lost, heartily cursing all the travel- lers that had written of this place, that they had described it so as to tempt people to see it, and never told us of the horrors that lay in the way. “ In the midst of all these reflections, and in the very dismallest part of all the cavern, on a sudden we had lost four of our six guides. What was my terror on this sight! the place was a thousand times darker and more terrible for want of their torches ; and I expected no other but every moment to fol- low them into some of these lakes, into which I doubted not but they were fallen. The remaining two guides said all they could, indeed, to cheer us up ; and told us we should see the other four a^ain o 362 STALACTITES. soon, and that we were near the end of our journey. I do not know what effect this might have upon the rest of my companions, but I assure you I be- lieved no part of the speech hut the last, which I expected every moment to find fulfilled in some pond or precipice. Our passage was by this time become very narrow, and we were obliged to crawl on all fours over rugged rocks ; when in an instant, and in the midst of these melancholy apprehen- sions, I heard a little hissing noise, and saw my- self in utter, and not to be described, darkness. Our guides called indeed cheerfully to us, and told us that they had accidentally dropped their torches into a puddle of water, but we should soon come to the rest of them, and they would light them again; and told us there was no danger, and we had no- thing to do but to crawl forward. I cannot say but I was amazed at the courage of these people, who were in a place where, I thought, four of them had already perished, and from whence we could none of us ever escape, and determined to lie down and die where I was. “ Words cannot describe the horror or the ex- treme darkness of the place. One of our guides, however, perceiving that I did not advance, came up to me, and clapping his hand firmly over my eyes dragged me a few paces forward. While I was in this strange condition, expecting every mo- ment death in a thousand shapes, and trembling to think what the guide meant by this rough pro- ceeding, he lifted me at once over a great stone, set STALACTITES. 363 ine down on my feet, and took his hand from be- fore my eyes. What words can describe at that instant my astonishment and transport ! instead of darkness and despair, all was splendor and mag- nificence before me; our guides all appeared about us ; the place was illuminated with fifty torches, and the guides all welcomed me into the grotto of Antiparos. The four that were first missing, 1 now found had only given us the slip to get the torches lighted up before we came ; and the other two had put out their lights on purpose to make us enter out of utter darkness into this pavilion of splendor and glory. I am now come to the proper business of this letter, which was to describe this grotto. But I must confess to you that words cannot do it. The amazing beauties of the place, the eye that sees them only can conceive. The best account I can give you, however, pray accept of. “ The people told us the depth of this place was 485 yards. The grotto in which we now were is a cavern of 120 yards wide, and 113 long, and seems about 60 yards high in many places. These measures differ something from the accounts tra- vellers in general give us ; but you may depend upon them as exact, for I took them with my own hand. Imagine then with yourself, an immense arch like this, almost all over lined with fine and bright crystallized white marble, and illuminated with fifty torches, and you will then have some faint idea of the place I had the pleasure to spend three hours in. This, however, is but a faint description 364 STALACTITES. of its beauties. The roof, which is a fine vaulted arch, is hung all over with icicles of white shining marble, some of them ten feet long, and as thick as one’s middle at the root; and among these there hang; a thousand festoons of leaves and flowers of the same substance, but so very glittering that there is no bearing to look lip at them. The sides of the arch are planted with seeming trees of the same white marble, rising in rows one above an- other, and often enclosing the points of the icicles. From these trees there are also hung festoons, tied as it were from one to another in vast quantities ; and in some places among them there seem rivers of marble winding through them in a thousand meanders. All these things are only made, in a long course of years, from the dropping of water, but really look like trees and brooks turned to marble. The floor we trod upon was rough and uneven, with crystals of all colours growing irre- gularly out of it, red, blue, green, and some of a pale yellow. These were all shaped like pieces of saltpetre, but so hard that they cut our shoes : among these, here and there, are placed icicles of the same white shining marble with those above, and seeming to have fallen down from the roof, and fixed there; only the big end of these is to the floor. To all these our guides tied torches, two or three to a pillar, and kept continually beating them to make them burn bright. You may guess what a glare of splendor and beauty must be the effect ol this illu- mination, among such rocks and columns of mar- STALACTITES. 36 5 ble. All round the lower part of the sides of the arch are a thousand white masses of marble, in the shape of oak trees. M. Tournefort compares them to cauliflowers, but I should as soon compare them to toadstools. In short, they are large enough to enclose, in many places, a piece of ground big enough for a bed-chamber. One of these cham- bers has a fair white curtain, whiter than satin, of the same marble, stretched all over the front of it. In this we all cut our names, and the date of the year, as a great many people have done before us. In the course of years afterwards, the stone blisters out like this white marble over the letters. M. Tournefort thinks the rock grows like oak or apple-trees for this reason ; but I remember I saw some of the finest cockle and muscle shells in the rock thereabouts that ever I saw in mv life: — I won- •/ der whether he thinks they grow there too. Be- sides, if this rock grow s so fast, the cavern ought to be all grown up by this time ; and yet, according to his measures and mine, the cavern seems to be turned larger since. Indeed, all that I can gather from his account of this glorious place is, that he had drunk a bottle or two too much before he went down into it.” One of the prettiest varieties of these calcareous substances is the Jfos ferri. This is a very beauti- ful stalagmite, composed of a tuft of little wfliite cylinders interlacing each other like a branched co- ralline. The name of flos ferri has been impro- perly applied to this variety, because it is found in STALACTITES. 366 mines of iron, though, at the same time, it is com- posed entirely of carbonate of lime, except a very little oxide of iron with which the base of the branches is generally impregnated. The most beautiful groups of this mineral are said to come from the mines in Syria, where the specimens have a silky or velvet-like surface, and are composed of converging needles. It is found likewise in several other places, but, for the most part, of an inferior colour. The other kind of incrustation which we meet with among the stalactites, is formed, like these bodies, of calcareous carbonate, but has obtained the name of alabaster. We are naturally led to suppose, from a proverbial expression, that ala- baster is a stone of transcendant whiteness ; never- theless, it is very rare to find it perfectly white, as it is generally veined or tinted with different shades of yellow, brown, or red. This assertion may ap- pear rather extraordinary to those who have been in the habit of seeing figures and ornaments of several kinds made of a beautifully white and trans- parent substance, under the name of alabaster. Hut this stone, which we so frequently meet with, is of a very different nature. It is formed of chalk combined with sulphuric acid, and known by the name of gypsum. This, when calcined, becomes the common plaster of pans. I he true alabaster, on the contrary, is simple carbonate of lime, and of very different chemical properties from the other. This mineral is not confined to subterranean STALACTITES. 3G7 places where the stalactites abound, hut is met with likewise in certain springs, where it generally incrusts whatever is laid in the water. A his cir- cumstance has not been lost upon the ingenious ar- tists of those countries where the springs are found, who avail themselves of this incrusting property to form their cameos, has reliefs, &c. One of the most celebrated springs of this kind is that of the baths of St. Philippe in Tuscany. The water of this spring is very hot, and runs on an enormous mass of stalactite which it has from time to time de- posited. From this deposition an Italian artist has modelled several bas-reliefs of a beautiful whiteness. To obtain his deposit he places moulds of sulphur in a very oblique direction against the sides of tubs open at top and bottom. Facli of these tubs is surmounted on the superior opening with a large cross of wood. The water of the spring, after having deposited its gross sediment, is conducted above the cross of wood, and dividing as it falls through the tubs, deposits a sediment in the moulds of a very fine texture. It requires from one to four months to form the bas-reliefs, according to the degree of substance it is intended to give them. The fountain of Saint-Allyre, near Clermont, in Auvergne, is famous for a strong incrustation, like a bridge, which it has thrown over the little stream that runs from it. Alabaster is sometimes formed in caverns in a very curious manner. Saussure tells us, that when he visited the grotto of Balme on the banks of the STALACTITES. 36*8 Arve, between Cl use and Sallenche, he was asto- nished to find that in several places the bottom of the cavern resounded under his feet as if he had been walking on a thin and sonorous vault. This was occasioned by a confusedly crystallized stony substance,- like that which hung from the walls of the grotto. Upon examining several little pools of stagnant water which were scattered about the bot- tom of the cavern, M. de Saussure noticed that a sort of powdery crust at first formed on the sur- face of the water, which afterwards assumed a more solid appearance, and became hard enough to resist a smart blow with a hammer. The water dropping in abundance through the roof of the cavern, at cer- tain times of the year, forms these little pools which deposit the alabaster. The water at length draining off, leaves the crust perfectly dry ; and this it was that surprised Saussure, and made him believe that the cavern had a false bottom. Fine alabaster is by no means common. The Egyptians get this mineral from the mountains of Thebaid, situated between the Nile and the Red Sea, near a town called Alabastrum. There is said to be a colossal figure of an Egyptian god, in the national museum at Paris, made with this precious alabaster. It is likewise found in several parts of France, particularly a fine red kind in the quarries at Montmartre. MARBLE. GENERIC CHARACTER. Compact calcareous earth, admitting of a fine polish. Fracture foliated ; exhibits granular distinct concretions. Burns to lime: dissolves, with effervescence, in the mineral acids. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Marmor micans. M. diaphanum album lamellosum intus micans duriusculum in grana subtilia sponte sece- dens, polituram ad; ittens. Linn. Sy»t. Nut. Gmel. 3. p. 104. no 3. Hard, white, diaphanous marble, of a foliated fracture, glittering within and breaking spon- taneously into little grains : takes a high polish. Calcareus particulis spatosis dispersis plants irre- guiariter dispositis nitentibus et marmor uni- color album. Waller. Syst. Miner. 1 . p. 1 24. no. 4. a. & p J 20. no. 8. a White Marele. Cronst. Miner. 1. p 24. Kirwan. Miner. 1. p. 114. Brongniart. Miner. 1. p. ly2. The white, or, as it has been called, sugar marble, is the most useful of all the numerous varieties of this beautiful substance. In its fracture it very 2 u VOL. in. MARBLE. 3/“0 much resembles hard white sugar, aud is frequently as free from impurities ; sometimes, however, it is mixed with other substances, and encloses differ- ent kinds of stones as well as portions of several metals. Th is kind of marble is found in enormous masses, forming beds of very considerable thickness, and often occupying the major part of a mountain. Geologists have, for the most part, considered the white marble as belonging exclusively to crystallized earths, and as coeval with porphyry, granit,&c. This opinion is strengthened by finding it in alternate layers with primitive substances, and always in- clined to the horizon in the same degree. The Alps, according to mineralogists, and especially the Pyrenees, exhibit frequent examples of this dispo- sition, where vertical layers of white marble, and beds of granite, may be seen disposed alternately. Similar instances occur at Inverary in Scotland, where this substance has been found under beds of porphyry. As another proof in favour of the sup- position, it is alleged that no decayed organic re- mains are ever found enclosed in white marble. Among artists this calcareous stone is highly esteemed for busts, statues, &c. and is from thence called statuary marble. The most celebrated blocks for this purpose are brought from quarries situated in the isles of Paros, Naxos, and Ienedos, in the Archipelago. The marble from these places has al- ways been in request, and was much employed by the antient sculptors, who used it for some of their most MARBLE. 3/1 celebrated statues, such as the Venus de Medicis, Pallas de Velletri, &c. Tlie Carrare marble is still whiter than that from Paros, and appears to have been even preferred by the antient statuaries. Several antique figures are formed of this marble; such as the famous Anti nous, a colossal bust of Jupiter; and, according to Do- lomieu, the Belvedere Apollo. This sort of mar- ble is, however, by 110 means confined to the places we have already mentioned; but is met with like- wise in France, in Piedmont, in Saxony, in Bohe- mia, in Norway, in Sweden, in England, &c. But it is rare to find it pure enough for the statuary, though it may be readily employed for other pur- poses. In the decoration of buildings, the forming of vases, &c. it becomes very useful; and when em- ployed for chimney ornaments it has been re- marked, that many pieces have, after a certain time, acquired a sort of flexibility, which has been supposed to be owing to their becoming completely dry, and to the influence of a dilatation and con- traction frequently renewed. Several of these mar- bles have been found to acquire this singular pro- perty by a long exposure to the air, assisted by the solar heat, especially upon the tops of some moun- tains, where this phaenomenon has been observed to occur spontaneously. This singularity in marble has been noticed by %• Ferber, who, in his Letters on Italy, tells us that in the Borghese palace at Rome, he saw tables of white statuary matble two fingers thick, that were 2 b 2 3/2 MARBLE. flexible. If these tables are supported vertically and struck on one end, they will vibrate so as to de- scribe small curves ; and during these oscillations it is said that the particles of marble may be heard rubbing or grinding against each other. Saussure has observed several beautiful marbles in Piedmont and in the Milanese. Near Mergozzo he found the quarries of white primitive marble veined with grayish black, of which the cathedral of Milan is built. Sicily furnishes several marbles of different degrees of beauty ; the most esteemed are of a deep red colour mixed with white and Isabella yellow. In Spain, as well as in Italy and in Greece, there are entire hills of white marble. One of the most singular phenomena of this kind occurs near Almeria, a maritime town in the king- dom of Grenada, of which Bowles has given the following description : “ To form a just idea of this mountain, you must conceive a block of white mar- ble, a league in circumference and two thousand feet high, so pure as to be quite free from any ex- traneous mixture. The summit is almost flat, and the marble which may be traced in several parts of it does not appear to have suffered any thing from the effect of the air. One side of this mountain is almost perpendicular, and appears like an enormous wall of a thousand feet high, entirely of one piece, and so perfect that the largest crack is not six feet long, and hardly two lines wide.” We know but little of the marbles of Asia. Dr. Shaw, in his Travels, speaks of the marble of Mount MARBLE. 373 Sinai, and of a reddish kind found on the banks of the Red Sea. Chardin also mentions several va- rieties found in Persia, of which the most pro- minent are white, black, and red, or a mixture of white and red. Marble is common in several of the Chinese pro- vinces, of which many of their bridges are con- structed. Twelve or fifteen leagues from Pekin there are quarries of white marble that are worked by the inhabitants into columns and other orna- ments to decorate the courts and palace of the em- peror. Many beautiful varieties of marble are found in Siberia, particularly in the environs of Ekaterin- bug, from whence it is conveyed into Russia. The late empress built a noble palace of this marble at Petersburgh, for her favourite Orlof. It is situ- ated on the banks of the Neva, and is one of the most striking ornaments of the capital. It is very common to find marble full of the re- mains of shells and other calcareous substances. Some specimens of this kind are very beautiful when polished, and much used to ornament chim- neys, &c. A gray brown sort, which is almost en- tirely composed of shells, is found in the neigh- bourhood of Troyes, in the department of Aube. Another kind, filled with shells of a fine golden yel- low, comes from the environs of Astracan; and seve- ral other varieties are obtained from different parts of the world. In the neighbourhood of Florence is found a 374 MARBLE. stone which we may be allowed to mention in this place, as it is known by the name of Florentine marble, and consists of the same component parts. If this stone is cut in a proper manner, its surface will exhibit the appearance of ruined cities, and other singular figures. Many pieces of this Floren- tine marble are preserved in the cabinets of the curious for the sake of their singularity. FLUOR SPAR. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calcareous earth united to a particular acid, which when extricated corrodes glass. Decrepitates with a moderate heat. Melts in clay crucibles at ISO0 of Wedgewood’s thermo- meter. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Fluor cubicus. FI. subdurus nitens laevis lamellosus fragilis in fragmenta pyramidalia dissiliens, cubicus. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 128. no. 5. Crystallized in cubes, moderately hard, with a smooth shining surface; crystals brittle; fracture foliated, breaking into pyramidal fragments. Crystallized Fluor. Cronst. Min.l. p.43. sect. 25. Fluor crystallisatus rhomboidalis. Waller. Syst. Miner. 1. 1/6. no. 4. a. Fluor Spar. . Kirwan. Miner. 1. p. 127. Patrin. Hist. Nat. des Miner. 3. p. 225. pi. at p. 22/. Brongn. Miner. 1. p. 243. This beautiful kind of spar generally crystallizes in the form of a perfect cube ; sometimes it is found with eight sides, but more frequently between the FLUOR SPAR. 376- two extremes. The crystals are often very large, and are principally of a white, violet, blue, green, yellow, or rose colour. Among these varieties there is one in Siberia of a violet colour, which inflames, when thrown on burning coals, and gives a beauti- ful green light. Pallas has discovered another va- riety in Catharinenburg, of a pale violet spotted with green : pieces of this spar are so phosphores- cent that the heat of the hand is sufficient to make them throw out a white glare, while boiling water produces a green light; and if the experiment is car- ried further, by throwing some in the fire, bright blue flashes will be produced which extend to some distance round the place. This remarkable pro- perty in fluor spar has been ingeniously exhibited by an officer of some mines in Russia. We are in- formed by Patrin, that he has encrusted the stove of his principal apartment with several pieces of fluor spar, which, when the stove becomes heated, throw out a coloured glare that at night has a very pretty effect. “ I was accommodated with this chan. her,” says Patrin, “ and not being aware of the effect, was agreeably surprised with this singular illumination. I he light spread by the o spar was a beautiful mixture of blue and green, and quite sufficient to render objects visible in the dark.” But the most singular property of fluor spar, and that which has more particularly excited the at- tention of chemists, is the power which one of its component parts possesses of dissolving flint. This FLUOR SPAR. 377 hard substance, which resists every other acid, is obliged to yield to that obtained from fluor, and therefore glass, which is composed ot flint united with an alkali, is readily corroded by it. It would be foreign to our purpose to enter into a chemical analysis of this curious substance ; nevertheless, we may be allowed to mention the powerful effects of its acid when reduced to the state of gas. A gen- tleman, who was amusing himself with some ex- periments on this fluid in a large saloon, was much astonished, when he entered the room the next day, to find that every glass had lost its polish #. Almost every country in Europe possesses dif- ferent kinds of fluor spar ; but none, we believe, can rival England, either in the quantity or the beauty of this mineral. Saxony and Bohemia are very rich in fluor spar, but Derbyshire and North- umberland are much more so. In these counties it appears under every variety of colour, and often in crystals of an extraordinary size. In the mines at Castleton, in Derbyshire, we meet with it in lumps of more than a foot in diameter, and of cubical crystals measuring two or three inches on every side. Fluor spar is almost always found in veins mixed with metallic substances, and particularly in those * This property in the gas has since been employed in order to engrave on glass, and the attempt has so far succeeded, that se- veral impressions, representing chemical vessels, have been struck oft for a work lately published. 3/8 FLUOR SPAR. of lead. Veins of a considerable thickness are often almost entirely filled with this substance, of which the masses present an assemblage of the most lively and opposite colours, the effect of which is very much heightened by streaks of metal passing through the fluor in different directions. All the crystallizations which are found in metallic veins, and especially the groups of fluor spar, are subject to an accident which is worthy of attention : it is, that their surface is sometimes studded with a mul- titude of marcasites, pyrites, or grains of galena, but always on the lower side, or that which is directed towards the bottom of the mine. M. Patrin observes, that the fluor spar which is found mixed with the primitive rocks, is generally either in masses or veins without being of any de- terminate figure ; nevertheless, M. Pictet of Geneva has described a fluor spar of a rose colour, formed of crystals of eight sides, which he brought from a rock near the bottom of a glacier, in the valley of Chamouny. The crystals are an inch in diameter, and of a uniform size, in all the pieces observed by M. Pictet. He adds, that similar specimens are to be found in Mount Saint-Goth ard, but that they are of a smaller size. It is singular, that although this mineral is plen- tiful in several parts of Europe, yet it is rare in the other quarters of the world. Among the numerous specimens of fluor spar which have been described by Rome de flsle, who has paid great attention to FLUOR SPAR. 3f9 to their different situations, not one is noticed from the mines of America, or from other distant coun- tries. In this country, which, as we have already ob- served, produces the finest specimens of fiuor spar, the inhabitants turn it to good account. They form the most beautiful pieces into different orna- ments for our chimneys, such as vases or pyra- mids ; sometimes into fruit, egg-cups, &c. The greatest manufactory for these things is carried on in Derbyshire. They turn this brittle substance on a very solid lathe worked by water ; and afterwards polish it in the same manner as marble. Patrin la- ments that this branch of industry is not introduced into France, where they have plenty of the spar which might be rendered equally profitable. DIAMOND. GENERIC CHARACTER. Extremely hard. Fracture foliated. Burns and consumes like an inflammable substance in a certain degree of heat. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Adamas pretiosissimus. Adamas. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 211. Alumen lapidosum pellucidissimum solidissimum liyalinum. Mus. Tessin. 38. no. 3. Gemma pellucidissima omnium du- rissima, pulverisata, nigrescens. Waller. Syst. Miner. 1. p. 230. no. 1. Da m ant. Baum. Miner, p. 225. Diamond Cronst. Miner. 1. p. 123. Kirwan. Miner. 1. p.393. Brongn. Min. 2. p. 58. Patrin. Hist. Nat. des Miner. 1. p. 224. Those persons who are totally unacquainted with the operations of chemistry, will not readily believe that the most precious stone in the world is no- DIAMOND. 381 thing but modified charcoal, and that, far from being indestructible, it may be entirely consumed by fire. Such, however, is the fact; for the know- ledge of which we are particularly indebted to the decisive experiment of Mr. Tennant, though other chemists have not been deficient in their operations on the same subject. It was found from some ex- periments which preceded those of Mr. -Tennant, that the diamond, though it was capable of resist- ing the effects of violent heat in a close vessel, © might be consumed when exposed to the joint action of heat and air. These experiments, how- ever, if we except those by Lavoisier, only proved the inflammability of the diamond. Mr. Tennant, and, we ought to add, M. Guyton, went further, and not only proved its combustible nature, but likewise ascertained its component parts. Accord- ing, therefore, to the present arrangement of mi- nerals, this substance is placed among the com- bustible bodies : nevertheless, we have taken the liberty to leave it at the head of the precious stones, as a more natural, though less scientific situation than the other. Diamonds, when brought to Europe in their rough state, are said to be either in the shape of roundish pebbles with shining surfaces, or in oc- taedral crystals ; but they are not entirely con- fined to this form, as they vary in several respects, and sometimes occur with twenty -four and even forty -eight sides. 382 DIAMOND. These precious stones are principally found in the East Indies, in the kingdoms of Golconda and Visapour, in the peninsula on this side the Ganges, nearly 18 degrees from the line. They are like- wise found in the kingdoms of Pegu and of Siam, in Brasil, and in South America. One circum- stance is worthy of remark respecting the situation of diamond mines : it is that those of America are at the same distance in the southern hemisphere, that the Asiatic mines are in the northern. The diamonds of India are in general larger and of a finer water than those of Brasil, but by no means so abundant. As a proof of this, Patrin tells us that when the mines of Brasil were first discovered, the Portuguese were so successful in their researches, that in 1/30 the Rio-Janeiro fleet brought away eleven hundred and forty-six ounces. This pro- digious quantity, brought immediately into the mar- ket, so reduced the price of diamonds, that, to pre- vent their becoming too common, the court of Por- tugal afterwards confined the employment of dia- mond hunting to a certain number of persons. The account which Tavernier has given us of the diamond mines of Asia is very circumstantial, and deserves our particular attention, as being writ- ten by a person who travelled so many years for the sole purpose of collecting diamonds. I he first mine he visited was at Raolconda, in the kingdom of Visapour, and the account he gives of this place is nearly as follows : DIAMOND. 383 Round about the place where the diamonds are found, the ground is sandy and full of rocks, which contain veins from half a finger to a finger wide. These veins are full of earth, or sand, which the miners pick out with instruments on purpose, and carefully deposit in a tub, as it is amongst this earth that the diamonds are found. They are sometimes obliged to break the rock in order to trace the veins for the sake of the earth ; and as soon as this is accomplished, and all the sand removed, it is carefully washed two or three times, and the diamonds, if there be any, picked out. There are several diamond-cutters at this mine, but none of them have above one mill, which is of steel. They never cut more than one stone at a time upon each mill, and use oil and diamond powder to facilitate the operation, at the same time loading the stone with a heavy weight. According to this account of Tavernier’s, the In- dian lapidaries are very expert in cutting the dia- monds, and will frequently undertake to divide a stone, which, from its unfavourable appearance, the Europeans will not venture upon. Speaking of the government of the mines, Ta- vernier says they trade very freely and honestly ; the king receiving two per cent, on all that are bought, besides a certain duty from the merchants for leave to dig. When these traders have fixed upon a spot they begin their search, and employ a 384 DIAMOND. number of miners in proportion to the burry they may be in. Sometimes a hundred men are em- ployed at once; and when this is the case, the mer- chant pays four pagodas to the king, for every day they work, and two when the number is not so great. When Tavernier visited these mines, the poor people never got above three pagodas * for the la- bour of a year, though they understand their busi- ness extremely well. These trifling wages, and the distress they suffer in consequence, make them hide a stone whenever they can find an opportunity: this, it must be confessed, is but seldom, as, besides being strictly guarded, they work almost naked ; and therefore, not having any outward protection for their stolen goods, they are sometimes in- duced to swallow them. When any of these peo- ple chance to meet with a large stone, they carry it to the master of the work, who rewards them ac- cordingly. Every day after dinner, the master of the miners brings the diamonds to the lodgings of the mer- chants in order to show them ; and if the stones are large, or sufficiently numerous to amount to more than the sum of tw'o thousand crowns, he will leave them for some days that the merchants may have time to consider their value, and agree about the price. This it seems they are obliged to do before * About 1/. 5s. 6d. DIAMOND. 385 the return of the owner, who will never bring the same stones again unless mixed witli others. It appears from Tavernier’s account, that the dia- mond traffic is carried on by persons of all ages, and that even children are taught to barter for them. “ It is very pleasant,” says this traveller, “ to see the young children of the merchants and other people of the country, from the age of ten to fifteen or sixteen years, who seat themselves on a tree that lies in a void place in the town : every one of them has his diamond-weights in a little bag hanging at one side ; on the other his purse with five or six hundred pagodas in gold in it. There they sit, ex- pecting when any person will come to sell them some diamonds. If any person brings them a stone, they put it into the hands of the eldest boy amongst them, who is as it were their chief, who looks upon it, and after that gives it to him that is next him ; by which means it goes from hand to hand, till it returns to him again, none of the rest speak- ing a word. After that he demands the price, to buy it if possible; but if he buy it too dear, it is upon his own account. In the evening the children compute what they have laid out; when they look upon their stones, and separate them according to their water, their weight, and clearness. Then they bring them to the principal merchants, who have generally great parcels to match ; and the profit is divided among the children equally, only the chief among them has a fourth in the hundred more than the rest. Young as they are, they so VOL. hi. 2 c 386 DIAMOND. well understand the price of stones, that if one of them has made any purchase, and is willing to lose one half in the hundred, the other will give him his money.” The secrecy which the Indians observe in their dealings with each other is singular enough ; for they will contrive to sell the same parcel of dia- monds several times to each other, without speak- ing a word ; so that no by-stander can possibly tell what they have been doing. The manner in which this is accomplished has been thus described by Tavernier : “ The buyer and seller sit one before another like two tailors, and the seller, opening his girdle, takes the right hand of the purchaser, and conveys it, together with his own, beneath his gir- dle, where the bargain is secretly driven in the pre- sence of many merchants, without the knowledge of any one. The parties never speak or make any signs either with their mouths or eyes, but only converse with their hands ; and this is managed in the following manner: — When the seller takes the purchaser by the whole hand it signifies a thousand, and as often as he squeezes it, it means so many thousand pagodas or rupees, according to the money in question. If he takes but half to the knuckle of the middle finger, that is as much as to say fifty ; the small end of the finger to the first knuckle sig- nifies ten. When he grasps five fingers, it signifies five hundred ; if hut one finger, one hundred.” Seven days journey from Golconda towards the East there is another diamond mine called Gani, or, DIAMOND. 38 7 in the Persian language, Coulour . This mine is said to have been discovered by a countryman, who, digging a piece of ground to sow millet, found a pointed stone that weighed above twenty-five carats. This, being carried to Golconda, immediately in- duced the inhabitants to search further ; and such was the success of their industry, that not only many other stones of considerable size were found, but the wonderful diamond, weighing nine hundred carats, which Mirgimola afterwards presented to Aureng-zeb. When Tavernier first visited this mine there were above sixty thousand persons at work, consist- ing of men, women, and children; the men being employed to dig, the women and children to carry the earth. When the miners have fixed upon the place where they intend to dig, they level another, some- what larger, in the same neighbourhood, and en- close it with a wall about two feet high, only leav- ing apertures from space to space, to give passage to the w'ater. The place being thus prepared, the people that are to work meet all together, men, women, and children, with the work-master, his friends, and relations. But before any thing is done, a superstitious ceremony is performed to ren- der their labours propitious. The only passive per- sonage in this ceremony is a little household god which the master brings with him, and before which the people prostrate themselves three times, while the bramin says a certain prayer. This being 2 c 2 388 DIAMOND. ended, he marks the forehead of every one with a kind of glue, made of saffron and gum, and is care- ful that the spot is large enough to hold seven or eight grains of rice, which he sticks upon it. Their bodies are then washed with the water which every one brings in his pot, after which they arrange themselves in order to partake of the repast which the work-master has prepared for them ; this is merely a plate of rice to each person, with the ad- dition of a quarter of a pound of butter, melted in a small copper pot with some sugar. After the feast is finished every person proceeds to his business, the men digging the earth in the place first discovered, and the women and children carrying it off into the other, or walled enclosure. When they find water they cease to dig, and the water thus found washes the earth two or three times, after which it is let out at an aperture re- served for that purpose. When the earth has been washed again, and well dried, they sift it in a kind of open sieve ; which operation is repeated before they begin to look for the diamonds. Another mine which Tavernier speaks of as fa- mous for its diamonds is the bed of the river Goual, near Soumelpour , a large town built entirely of earth, and covered with branches of cocoa trees. he river Goual runs within a mile of the town, in its way from the mountains towards the Ganges. All our fine diamond points or sparks, called natural sparks , are brought from this river, where they are collected as soon as the great rains are over, which DIAMOND. is about the end of December. As soon in January as the water is grown clear, eight or ten thousand persons, of all ages and both sexes, come out ol Soumelpour and the neighbouring villages. The most experienced among them search and examine the sand of the river, going up it from Soumelpour to the very mountain whence it springs, d hose who are used to this business know by the sand whether any diamonds are likely to be found or not, and judge it a favourable sign when they find a number of those stones which we call thunder stones, at the bottom of the river. When they have reason to believe that the produce will pay them for their labour, they proceed to take up the sand, first making a dam round the place with stones, earth, and fascines, and then lading out the water. After this is done, they dig about two feet deep, and the sand thus procured is carried into a place walled round on the bank of the river, where it is washed and sifted in the same manner as at Coulour. Magellan tells us that the greatest diamond ever known in the world is one belonging to the king of Portugal, which was found in Brasil, and is still uncut. This gentleman was informed from good authority that it was once of a larger size, but that a piece was cleaved or broken by the ignorant countryman who chanced to find the gem, and tried its hardness by a stroke of a large hammer upon an anvil. This prodigious diamond weighs lb’SO ca- DIAMOND. 390 rats* ; and although it is uncut, Rome de 1’ Isle says it is valued at 224 millions sterling. This appears to be an incredible sum, and probably this valuation is erroneous; but even supposing that to be the case, and that we employ the usual methods laid down tor computing the worth of these jewels, the sum will be immense ; as in this way it will amount to at least 5,644,800 pounds sterling! The diamond which is next in value adorns the sceptre of the emperor of Russia, and is placed un- der the eagle at the top of it. This stone weighs 779 carats, and is worth at least 4,854,728 pounds sterling, although it hardly cost 135,417 guineas. A singular history is attached to this diamond. It was formerly one of the eyes of a Malabarian idol, named Scheringham. A French grenadier, who had deserted from the Indian service, contrived to become one of the priests of that idol, and, watch- ing his opportunity, stole its eye and ran away to the English at Trichinapeuty, from whence he car- ried it to Madras. A ship captain bought it for twenty thousand rupees ; afterwards a Jew gave seventeen or eighteen thousand pounds for it : at last a Greek merchant, named Gregory Suflras, of- fered it to sale at Amsterdam in the year 1766, where it was bought by prince Orloff for his sove- reign the empress of Russia. The figure and size of this diamond is preserved in the British Museum. The diamond of the Great Mogul weighs 279 ca- * A carat weighs four grains. DIAMOND. 3^1 rats, and is said to be worth 380,000 guineas. 1 his diamond has a small flaw underneath near the bot- tom ; before this stone was cut Tavernier tells us it weighed 900 carats, consequently its loss in cutting must have been prodigious. Another diamond in the possession of the king of Portugal, which weighs 215 carats, is extremely fine, and worth at least 369,800/. The famous diamond which belonged to the late king of France, called the Pitt, or Regent , weighs nearly 13/ carats, and has been valued at 208,333 guineas, although it did not cost above half that sum. This beautiful gem was found in the diamond mines at the foot of the Gaut mountains, about twenty miles from Golconda. Another diamond belonging to the same monarch, called the Sancy, was reckoned a very fine stone, though it weighs only 55 carats. It cost 25,000 guineas, but is said to be worth a much larger sum. We must not omit to mention the diamond of the emperor of Germany, which weighs 139 carats, and is valued at 109,520 guineas. It is of a light citron colour. It is well known that the diamond is the hardest of all the precious stones, and only to be cut by the assistance of its own powder. We are informed, that to bring it to the degree of perfection which so much augments its price, they begin by rubbing several against each other while rough, after having previously glued them to the ends of two wooden DIAMOND. 392 blocks, thick enough to be held in the hand. The powder which is rubbed off the stones in this opera- tion is caught in a little box provided for the pur- pose, and afterwards used to grind and polish the stones. From the extreme hardness of these stones, it has been alleged that rubbing them against each other is the only way to reduce them to an impal- pable powder ; but this is not strictly the case, as the jewellers are in the habit of pounding small pieces in steel mortars fitted with a pestle exactly the size of the interior, so that none of the diamond can escape. A few blows with a hammer upon the head of the pestle completely powder the stone. Diamonds are more or less valuable, according to what is called their water . Those of the first water are in the greatest degree of purity and perfection, while those of less brilliancy are said to be of the second or third water, and thus they proceed till the stone becomes coloured ; for there are diamonds of all colours, though faintly tinted. Thus we have some of a rose colour ; others green, blue, brown, black ; and some are marked with black spots. GEM. GENERIC CHARACTER. A very hard and almost infusible stone, composed of siliceous and argillaceous earth, mixed with a little calx and iron. RUBY. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Gemma Rubinus. G. durissima ponderosa rubra, texturae lamel- losae, directione mutata conchaceae, colons in igne et tritura tenacissima. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 170. A very hard, heavy, red gem, of a lamellated texture, changing to the conchoidal ; re- tains its colour in the fire, and also when ground to powder. Gemma pellucidissima duritie secunda, colore rubro in igne permanente. Waller. Miner. 111. Syst. Miner. 1. p. 325. no. 2. Rubinus. Vogel. Miner. 143. Baum. Miner. 1. p. 22. rUBy Cronst. Miner. 1 . p. 134. Kirtvan, Miner. 1 . p. 250. Patrin, Hist. Nat. des Miner. J . p. 243. Brongn. Miner. 1. p. 436. We are told by Patrin that the oriental ruby, the oriental topaz, and the oriental sapphire, which .394 RUBY. form three different gems amongst the lapidaries, are known by naturalists to he merely varieties of the same stone. They are in effect of the same form, and nearly of the same specific gravity ; hut what places the analogy in a still stronger light is, that the different colours of the three gems are some- times found united in the same crystal. According to Tavernier, all coloured hard stones are called ru- bies in the East Indian mines ; and Wallerius, as well as Rome de E Isle, asserts that the hard and bril- liant oriental rubies, sapphires, and topazes, are the very same stone, the colour excepted. Oriental rubies crystallize in elongated hexagonal pyramids, like those of rock crystal, but much longer. They are found in Brasil, and in several parts of the East Indies; among other places, the mountain called Cape lan, about twelve days journey from Sirian, the capital of Pegu, is famous for them. They are generally discovered in the sands of rivers of a red colour, or in a clayey earth of a greenish colour, and sometimes adhering to red rocks. The Mogul’s throne must be very rich in rubies, if Tavernier is accurate in his account, who tells us that there are 108, weighing from one to two hun- dred carats each, besides a round one of almost two ounces and a half. Patrin mentions, from Faujas, the circumstance of sapphires being found in a rivulet that passes through the village of Expailly, near Puy en Velay, which he considers as like those of the Indies. 1 hey were llUIi Y. 395 found in a ferruginous volcanic sand, with little hyacinths resembling those of Ceylon. “ There are,” says Faujas, “ several sapphires in the ferrugi- nous sands of Expailly, rrnxed with garnets and hya- cinths. I am convinced that they are true sapphires, and not coloured rock crystals, as several naturalists would have us believe.” The sapphire is found to vary in colour : it is generally of a transparent blue; but M. Engestrom found some of a milky colour, which, when looked through, varied in the same manner as the milky blueish opals. The late king of France had one with a yellow stripe of a fine topaz in the middle, and some are met with half green and half red. The sapphire is the third in hardness, the ruby being the hardest of all after the diamond. It be- comes electric when rubbed, and is found in Siberia, Bohemia, Alsace, and Auvergne. Rome de ITsle speaks of one from this last place which was en- tirely green or blue, according to the side it was looked through. Magellan tells us that sapphires are preferable to common rubies for jewelling the pallets of escapements, and the holes in wheel- pivots, in astronomical watches and clocks, on ac- count of the regular hardness of their substance. A good sapphire of ten carats is valued at 50 guineas. If it weighs 20 carats its value is 200 guineas ; but under ten carats its value is estimated at a much lower rate. The topaz is a precious stone of a pale yellow RUBY. 396 colour, subject to vary, and of a lamellated struc- ture like the other gems. The best kind of topaz is called the oriental, and has the same properties as the ruby and the sapphire. It is found in Pegu, Ceylon, Arabia, and Egypt. A fine variety of this gem is found in Brasil, of a reddish orange colour, and of singular brilliancy. Among others which are brought from that country are some perfectly white, and of so fine a water that Rome de P Isle supposes, with reason, that the pretended diamond which weighs twelve ounces, in the possession of the king of Portugal, is nothing but a white topaz. Saxony likewise produces its topazes, which are generally of a straw colour, though they are some- times met with white, and sometimes with a blue- ish or greenish tint. They are principally found in a mountain called Schneckenstein, on the frontiers of Bohemia, six leagues to the south of Zwickau. From the summit of the mountain rises a great rock, about eight feet high, which is composed of the same substance as the topaz mixed with other stony matters. In parts of this rock there are a great number of little cavities, where the topazes are found ingrafted in the rock, together with little crystals of quartz, and often covered with yellow ochre. From the circumstance of so many of these stones being found in this place, the German mi- neralogists have named it topaz-fels , or rock of topaz. Other parts of Saxony likewise produce these stones, particularly some granit rocks, which RUBY. 3.9 7 enclose the tin-mines ofZinwald, in Ertzghebirghe, and in Schlackenwald, in Bohemia; hut in general they are of a very small size, and often very opaque. Topazes are found in Siberia , in a mountain called the Odon-Tchelon. The superior part of this mountain, whose sides are covered with ver- dure, is terminated by an abrupt cone, like the summit of a volcano, having on the south-east side a large opening, which resembles a crater. Part of this cone is formed of granit, intersected in many places by masses of argillaceous or ferrugineous sub- stances, in which the topazes are constantly found, though always accompanied with emeralds of va- rious colours. But they are not confined to this part of Siberia alone, as the Uralian mountains produce a considerable number, especially about twenty-five leagues to the north of Ekateringburg, in the environs of Mourzinsk. In general the topazes of Siberia are of a very pale greenish blue, and become electric when heated. Those of Saxony are of a pale yellow, become elec- tric when rubbed, and are discoloured by fire. The variety found in Brasil are of a lively yellow colour, electric when heated, and turn red in the fire. Such are the principal characters which distinguish these stones from each other ; and these are so trifling to that they cannot at best amount to more than mere varieties. lavernier mentions a fine topaz belonging to the Mogul, weighing 15/ carats ; and many others are known of a very large size. EMERALD. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Gemma Smaragdus. G. dura pellucida leviuscula coloris gra- minei in igne in cceruleum abeuntis, re- frigeratae redeuntis, fortiori liquanda, texturae conchaceae. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 175. no. 13. A hard, smooth, pellucid gem, of a green colour ; becomes blue when heated to a certain degree, but recovers its colour when cold ; is of a conchoidal texture, and melts in a very strong fire. Smaragdus Gemma. Vogel. Miner. 145. Waller. Miner. 114. Emerald. . . Cronst. Miner. 1. p. 146. Kirwan, Miner. 1. p. 24/. Patrin, Hist. Nat. des Miner. 2. p. 14. Brongniart , Miner. 1. p. 417* The most beautiful specimens of this precious stone are brought from Peru, where they are found in the jurisdiction of Scinta-Fc , and in the mountains of the valley of Tunca, which separate New Gra- nada from Popayan. It is said that when the Spa- niards first landed in Peru, they found an immense quantity of emeralds in the province of Quito ; but they destroyed a great number on an anvil, be- EMERALD. 3.99 lieving that the true emerald ought to resist a blow with a hammer as well as the diamond. 1 he beau- tiful deep green colour for which the emeralds of Peru are so eminently distinguished, is apt to vary considerably in different pieces, and sometimes, among a great number of crystals ot this gem, not one will be found perfect. The principal defects are fissures which occasionally occur in the stone, and a want of that transparency and lustre which constitutes its chief beauty. Emeralds are found in different situations in the earth ; sometimes they are met with in black lime- stone, sometimes grouped with crystals of quartz or felt-spar, and occasionally concealed in the cavities which are naturally formed in granit. A most beautiful group of these gems is to be seen at Lo- retto in the treasure of the holy chapel near An- cona; it is composed of about fifty hexagonal prisms of emerald of an inch in diameter and two inches long, crystallized on a basis of white quartz mixed with mica. There is at present, in the Museum dy Histoire Naturelle , an emerald cut in the shape of a dome, which formerly decorated the crown of Jul ius the Second. It is of a dull green colour, about two inches high, and an inch and a half in diameter. This must have been a native of the old continent, since America was hardly discovered when Julius the second was advanced to the pontificate. Although Peru is famous for producing the finest emeralds, they are not confined to that country ; but are likewise produced in other parts of the 400 EMERALD. world. For instance, in Siberia these gems are found of the same form, the same specific gravity, and the same hardness as those of Peru ; but their colour is not so good. The same mountain we have already noticed as producing the topaz, also affords the emerald. On the declivity of the Odon- Tchelon there are two layers of emeralds : the first is not far from a rivulet; the second is towards the middle of the mountain. When Patrin visited this spot in July 1785, the countrymen who are em- ployed to collect the emeralds had obtained per- mission to attend to their agricultural pursuits ; nevertheless, with the assistance of a few persons who attended him, he contrived to bring home some interesting specimens. This mineralogist informs us, that the emeralds are found 3 or 400 toises to the north-east of the chrysolites (other gems found in the same mountain), and in a higher situation by 100 toises. He perceived a great fissure in one place, with an opening nearly horizontal, but de- scending very obliquely into the mountain between two beds of solid granit. This fissure is several feet wide and some fathoms in length. It is lull of a ferruginous clay mixed with mica ; and in this bed the emeralds are found, not adhering to the granit, but dispersed without order in the argillaceous earth. Emeralds, in their rough or native state, consist of hexagonal columns, mostly truncated at both ends. “ I have,” says Engestrom, “ samples of both transparent grass green and light green co- EMERALD. 401 lours, which in a gentle heat become colourless ; but white and opaque in a strong fire, without the least marks of fusion.” These stones are distinguished by the jewellers into two kinds, the oriental and occidental. I rue oriental emeralds are very scarce, and at present found only in the kingdom of Cambay. I hose from the western continent, or occidental, are far more common ; and some are said to be found in Europe, principally in the duchy of Silesia in Germany. 2 D VOL. II! GARNET. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Gemma Granatus. G. dura ponderosa rubra texlurae inequalis ; igne leniori colorem servans, paulo fortiori in scoriam opacam fuscam spumidam abiens. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 1 ?6. A hard heavy red gem, of an unequal tex- ture j retains its colour in a gentle heat, but melts into a frothy opake brown sco- ria in a strong fire. Gemma plus minus pellucida, duritie octava, colore obscure rubro in igne permanente. Waller. Miner. 117- Garnet. . . . Cronst. Miner. 1 . p. 154. Kirwan, Miner. 1. 258. Patrin , Hist. ATat. des Miner. 2. p. 51. Brogn. Miner. 1. p. 594. The garnet varies more than any other gem, both in the form of its crystals and in its colour ; some being of a deep red, some yellowish, or of a purple tint, and others brown, blackish, and quite opake. They are generally of a spherical form, and never crystallize with less than twelve sides. I he pre- vailing colour is a tine red, and the mean size that of a large pea; though, according to Patrin, they are found from the size of a grain of sand to three or GARNET. 403 four inches in diameter. Those imbedded in granite are in general of the smallest size, but at the same time the most transparent.- Among the garnets which are called oriental, may be distinguished three different shades, known in commerce by as many different names. 1 he gar- net of a fine red colour, and free from any mixture, is called a carbuncle. That which approaches to an orange is the soranus of the antients, and the ve meille of the French. Where the fine natural red of the garnet is mixed with purple, the stone has improperly been named the Syrian ; for it does not come from Syria, but from Siren, a capital town in Pegu. Garnets are found in almost every country where primitive rocks exist. Switzerland and Bohemia are the two countries in Europe which furnish them in the greatest abundance. Those of Bohemia have a tint of orange mixed with the red, from whence some have given them the name of rubies. These stones are likewise found in Hungary, at Pyrna in Silesia, in Spain, and in Norway. At Bareith, a town in Germany, garnets are found in little irre- gular masses, of a fine red colour, and abundantly disseminated in a green semitransparent stone called serpentine. As they are susceptible of a fine polish, the inhabitants form them into several pretty trin- kets and other articles of jewellery. Black garnets are met with in different situations. Ramond, professor of natural history at Tarbes, col- lected some from a mountain of the Pyrenees in the 2 n 2 404 GARNET. neighbourhood of Barege; Rome de 1’ Isle found them in the diamond mines of Brasil; and Brogniart tells us that they have been discovered in a volcanic rock near Vesuvius, and in the basaltes of Bohemia. When garnets are perfectly transparent, and hard enough to hear a fine polish, the lapidaries cut them into facets to be employed as jewels. At Meronitz and Trziblitz in Bohemia, there are places where they work the garnets which are found in their neighbourhood. There are work-shops also at Fri- burg in Brisgaw, for the garnets which are collected from several of the Swiss mountains. The impure garnets are used to advantage as a flux when they are found near iron-mines, as they not only facilitate the fusion of that metal, but add something to the mass by contributing the portion of iron which generally enters into their composition. The quantity indeed is sometimes so great, that they have been said to yield forty pounds in the hundred weight, and consequently worth smelting alone for the sake of their produce. OPAL. GENERIC CHARACTER. A hard, smooth, shining stone. Semitransparent. Fracture conchoidal. Infusible by itself, but melts in a strong heat when mixed with mineral alkali, or borax. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Opalus vulgaris, Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. l6l. Achates fere pellucida, colores pro situ spec- tatoris mutans. Waller. Miner. 82. An almost pellucid agate, whose colours change according to the position of the spectator. Silex vagus, reflectione et refractione varians; albus. Opal Cronst. Miner. 1. p. 157. Kir w an > Miner. \. p. 289. Patrin, Hist, des Miner. 2. p. 216. Brogn. Miner. 1. p. 500. The opal is much esteemed among naturalists for the delicacy of its colours. BufFon ranks it above all the sparkling gems ; for although it has neither the hardness nor brilliancy of precious stones, yet 406 OPAL. its substance is penetrated by the most agreeable colours, which give it a very delicate appearance. Pliny celebrates the opal as possessing all the fire of the carbuncle, the purple of the amethyst, the green of the emerald, sometimes separated, some- times mixed in the most admirable manner. To these colours may be added the blue and the orange, which frequently join them as auxiliaries, and together form a stone of the most beautiful o aspect. An opal of a considerable size, in all the parts of which the colours are not only brilliant, but pro- perly varied, is so rare a production that it can hardly be estimated at any price. Pliny mentions one which belonged to the senator Nonius, who ra- ther chose to suffer banishment than part with it to Anthony. This stone was in Rome at that time valued at 2000 sestertii. Cronstedt describes an opal which appears olive- coloured by reflection, and seems to be opaque ; but when held against the light is found transparent and of a fine ruby colour. This stone was dis- covered among the ruins of Alexandria. It is about the size of a hazle-nut, and was bought for a trifle of a French drogoman, and presented to the French consul Lironcourt, who afterwards offered it for sale in several places for the sum of 40,000 rix-dollars. The opal is found in little masses, in veins scat- tered among rocks which appear to be partly de- composed, and about the nature of which naturalists seem to be divided ; some supposing them to be OPAL. 40 7 volcanic remains, others argillaceous rocks, and a third class decomposed porphyry. Many countries of the world yield this beautiful stone, particularly Saxony, Bohemia, Iceland, Ara- bia, and the Indies; but the most beautiful, or those which have obtained the name of oriental opals, come from Hungary. One of the most re- markable mines of opal in this last country is situ- ated in a hill at the foot of the mountains near the village of Czernizka, some miles from Eperies. The lava, which serves as a bed for the opals, and which covers one part of the hill, is two or three fathoms thick ; and it is observed that the finest opals are al- ways found near the surface, and that they are some- times turned up by the plough. The beds which contain the opals are occasionally so penetrated by moisture, that the opals them- selves are soft enough to break between the fingers ; but when they have been exposed to the sun for a few days they recover their usual hardness, and re- assume their beautiful colours. In drying, the stone contracts a number of little fissures, or clefts, by which the rays of light are reflected and decom- posed so as to produce all those varied tints for which the opal is so eminently distinguished ; and it should be noticed that these tints vary according to the direction in which the stone is viewed. Thus, for example, when an opal reflects the blue or green rays from its surface, if held up to the light and examined in this situation, it will often appear throughout of the colour of fire. 408 OPAL. According to Patrin, it is not the little clefts in the opal that alone cause the different colours which are reflected from its surface ; for he tells us that, on exposing several opals immediately taken from the mine, they will at first appear equally milky, and exactly alike in texture and fineness. All will become flawed in the same manner by the action of heat ; nevertheless, some will acquire the greatest beauty, while others will hardly possess a single coloured ray. The white and milky opals which reflect no co- lour, are called moon stones : they are very common, and but little esteemed. hydrophane. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Opalus hydrophanus. O. subopacus in liquidis pellucidus co- loremque mutans, linguae adherens. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 159- Subopaque j but becomes transparent when immersed in liquids : adheres to the tongue. Achates unguium colore in aere opaca, aqua pellucens. Waller. Miner. 83. Syst. Miner. 1. p. 283. no. 21. Lapide mutaeili. Bruckman. Hydrophane. . . . Cronst. Miner. 1. p. 178. Kinvan, Miner. 1. p. 295. Patrin, Hist, des Miner. 2. p. 224. Brogn. Miner. 1. p. 299. This very singular stone has attracted the attention of naturalists, for the property which it exhibits of passing from an opaque to a transparent state after being laid in water for a few hours. We owe the discovery of this phenomenon to a German na- turalist, who, having several opals of a milky ap- pearance and without colour, thought to improve them by the assistance of acids: the event surprised him ; for he perceived that some of these stones, which were perfectly opaque before, became com- 410 HYDROrHANE. pletely transparent after they had been for some time in the acid. It is said he made the most of his discovery, and to augment the price of his stones gave them the pompous title of eye of the world ; and they are still very generally known both in Ger- many and other countries, by the name of oculus mundi or lapis mutahilis. Mere infusion in any aqueous fluid is enough to render this stone transparent, and therefore water is commonly used as the most convenient for the pur- pose. As soon as the hydrophane is put into water it exhales a musty smell, several bubbles of air arise, and it gradually becomes transparent. Some of these stones are colourless when transparent, while others assume different tints, such as yellow or red ; and some acquire a beautiful mother of pearl co- lour. Engerstrom notices the hydrophanes which are preserved in the British Museum, the largest of which is about the size of a cherry-stone, though of an oval shape. It is opaque, and its colour like that of a common yellow pea. When this stone has lain in water some hours it becomes transparent, and of a yellow amber colour. This change begins soon after the emersion, and at one end in the form of a little spot, which increases by slow degrees until the whole of the stone has become uniformly clear throughout : when taken out ol the water it loses its transparency, first at one end, and then gradually over the remainder, until the whole stone has recovered its former opacity; and this change is effected in less time than the other. HYDROPHANE. 411 The younger Saussure has found an ingenious way to render the hydrophane transparent by heat as well as moisture. This stone is evidently of a porous nature, and merely becomes transparent by having its pores filled with a fluid ; therefore Saus- sure plunged a specimen of the hydrophane into melted wax, and succeeded with his experiment. When the wax was cold and congealed, the stone was opaque : on the contrary, when the wax be- came fluid by heat, it was transparent. Among other experiments tried with this stone, it has been found that when plunged in hot water it becomes transparent much sooner, and that the same hap- pens when it is put into very dilute acid. As a proof of the porosity of the hydrophane, Patrin mentions one of an inch in diameter, which is en- tirely opaque, but acquires in water the transpa- rency and colour of a topaz of Saxony. When it is dry and opaque, it weighs 135 grains; but when it becomes transparent in water it is found to have acquired eight grains, as it then weighs 143. An- other of 12b grains when dry is found to increase in the same proportion after it has been for some time in water, where it becomes of an orange colour. Hydrophanes are found in the same situation as the chalcedony and the opal. The places which are particularly noticed for producing these stones, are Hubertsburg in Saxony, the Isle of Ferro, Tel- kobania in Hungary, Chatelaudren in France, and the mountain of Musinet, two leagues to the west 412 HYDROPHANE. of Turin. Saussure has mentioned this last place, in his Travels, as producing the hydrophane, and tells us that the mountain is composed of a green serpentine, harder than that of Saxony. Beneath the beds ot serpentine are masses of a green mag- nesian earth, which seem to be nothing more than the serpentine stone in a decomposed state. In these masses are found a number of rolling stones something larger than a cricket-ball, and among them are the hydrophanes, though scarcely one of these is to be met with among a hundred of the others. PORPHYRY. GENERIC CHARACTER. A hard compound stone of various colours. AGATE. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Porphyrius Achates. P. ex jaspide, quartzo fragili, crystallo, amethysto, chalcedonio genuino, cor- neolo et onyche, petrosilice, pyroma- cho, pluribus vel paucioribus simul compositus. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 23/. no. 66. Formed of jasper, brittle quartz, crystal, amethyst ; genuine chalcedony, cor- nelian and onyx, petrosilex, and com- mon flint, mixed together in a greater or lesser proportion. Achates durissima fere pellucens, diver- sis coloribus nitens, variegata. JValler. Miner. 84. &: Syst. Miner. 1. p. 284. no. 22. Agate Cronst. Miner, l. p. 186. Kirwan, Miner. 1. p. 330. Patrin , Hist, des Miner. 2. p. lpO. Brogn. Miner. 1. p. 2g6. The agate is in its texture nothing but a flint va-< negated with different colours, of sufficient beauty 414 agate. when cut and polished to attract the attention of the jeweller. It is subject to almost endless va- riety, and is esteemed in proportion to the beauty and elegance of its tints. The onyx, the cornelian, the chalcedony, and the sardonyx, are merely va- rieties of this stone, which entirely depend for their celebrity on the beauty of their colour. The names which they have obtained are mostly derived from the Greek, as if the business of the lapidary in cut- ting them, and the fondness of admiring their seve- ral beauties and figures, had been derived from that nation alone. The globular form which agates usually assume is said to be owing to their situation, which is generally in the cavities of rocks. When this is not the case, the stones are either distributed with- out order in the earth where they are found, or else disposed in interrupted layers or beds. They have likewise been observed in veins of metallic sub- stances as well as in minerals of the most opposite nature, Saussure having noticed them in some gra- nite, near Vienna, while Humboldt assures us that he has met with veins of agate in chalk. According to M. Brogniart, agates are chiefly found in the porphyry and volcanic earths, particularly in the cavities of volcanic tufas, and in porous lavas. In these situations they line the walls of the cavities with very pretty stalactites, and are sometimes formed of round globules as transparent as drops of limpid resin. It is thus they are met with in al- most all the volcanic countries, but principally in the Ferro Islands, and in Auvergne. AGATE. 415 Although agates may be said to be found in al- most every part of the world, yet there are some places particularly famous for them; and one oi the chief of these is Oberstein, in the Palatinate. I he agates from this place are spread all over Europe, and are best known in mineralogical cabinets. They are found in hills composed of antient lava, the ex- terior part of which is decomposed, and resembles a mixture of clay, chalk, and oxide ot iron. Agates which are not more than three or four inches in diameter are generally quite solid, and often exhibit, when cut, concentric zones of several colours. These zones approach more or less to the circular or oval shape, and very frequently are so irregular as somewhat to resemble the plan of a fortification. When the balls of this stone are of a considerable size, they are mostly hollow, and the cavities are sometimes very beautifully lined with crystallized pyramids of amethyst. On these cry- stals are often implanted hexahedral columns of cal- careous spar of a grayish colour, forming altogether the most beautiful group imaginable. Some of these hollow balls of the smallest size have their cavity filled with water, from whence they have obtained the name of enhydres. They are found in the territory of Vicentino in Italy, in the middle of a volcanic hill. These little agates, which are not much larger than an almond, contain a drop of water which never entirely fills the cavity, as it may be seen to move when the stone is turned between the fingers. 416 AGATE. Besides this very curious circumstance in the a i i \ •»* * <■» . f ^ . 5 P< > • ut a i ii; ! Wi tOtt U, i . lo : \ ; : *-6f 9b £ .;** ! sis 1 l in tliC * fill f; : . ! -id' ■ .i b c eat h * ■ ,-l. u '■ i* k • •* a IV b 1 V . •* iatv» : * . . ; ti .• , ‘ ' : »% • I t fce'CiKl.;, v,.ui ». • . 1 v jrr v- d ) •• . ■ • R.ii i> • ; •• v • • iih ) , i . -1 H TV < ( nrf' ( 1. • / SALT. 437 of more than six hundred feet ; in Spain we find it both on a level with the plains, and several hun- dred feet above ; in Tirol it is still more elevated, and in Peru it is found on the summit of the Andes, more than two thousand fathoms above the surface of the sea. The only mines of rock salt in England are those near Northwich, in the county of Chester, disco- vered, about a mile from the town, in the year 1670. The beds of salt in these mines are found from 80 to 140 feet below the surface of the earth. They vary in thickness, and lie in an undulating or waved direction. We learn from some observa- tions made upon the spot, that the first stratum, or mine, is from fifteen to twenty-one yards in thick- ness, in appearance resembling brown sugar candy, perfectly solid, and so hard as to be broken with great difficulty by iron picks and wedges. This part of the business, however, has lately been much accelerated by gunpowder, with which the work- men loosen and remove many tons together. Be- neath this stratum is a bed of hard stone *, con- sisting of large veins of flag, intermingled with some rock salt, the whole from twenty-five to thirty- five yards in thickness. Under this bed is a second stratum, or mine of salt, from five to six yards thick; many parts of it perfectly white, and clear as crystal ; others brown ; but all less impure than the upper * This must be considered as a very singular occurrence, and perhaps the only instance where a stratum of hard stone has been found between layers of salt. 438 SALT. stratum. The whole mass of salt is covered by a bed of whitish clay, used in the manufactory of Liverpool ware. The same observer informs us that rock salt-pits are sunk at a great expense, and are very uncertain in their duration ; being frequently destroyed by the brine springs bursting into them, and dissolving the pillars that support the roof; through which the whole work falls in, leaving vast chasms in the sur- face of the earth. In forming a pit, a shaft or eye is sunk, similar to that of a coal-pit, but more ex- tensive. When the workmen have penetrated to the salt rock, and made a proper cavity, they leave a sufficient substance of the rock (generally about seven yards in thickness) to form a solid roof ; and as they proceed they hew pillars out of the rock to sustain the roof, and then employ gunpowder to separate what they intend to raise. This is con- veyed to the surface in large craggy lumps, drawn up in capacious baskets made for the purpose. The largest rock salt-pit now worked is in the tow n ship of Wilton, near Northwich. This has been ex- cavated in a circular form 108 yards in diameter; its roof is supported by twenty-five pillars, each three yards wide at the front, four at the back, and its sides extending six yards. Each pillar contains 2f)4 solid yards of rock salt ; and the whole area of the pit, which is fourteen yards hollow, includes 9160 superficial yards, being little less than two acres of land. We may easily conceive that when this wonderful place is wrell lighted up, the re- SALT. 439 flection of the torches from so many brilliant sur- faces must have a very surprising effect. A con- stant current of fresh air is communicated to the workmen by means of a tube at the mouth of the pit, with a pair of large double bellows fixed to it. Hungary and Poland produce several mines of sal gem, of considerable magnitude ; but the most famous among them, and indeed the most cele-r brated in Europe, are the salt-mines of Wielitska, about two leagues to the south-west of Cracow. According to the local description of these mines, which has been given by several naturalists, we find that immediately under the common soil there is a layer of clay, which is succeeded by sand to the depth of thirty feet : after having passed another layer of clay of a black colour and very compact texture, we arrive at a mixture of sand and salt, sometimes in grains, sometimes in lumps of a very considerable size, and several feet in diameter. At the depth of 150 or 200 feet we find the regular layers of salt, which are at first very thin, but gra- dually increase in thickness, and are separated from each other by strata of sand, marie, and pebbles. •l The descent into these mines is by six wells, and in the interior are several small chapels excavated in the salt, where mass is said at certain times of the year. One of these chapels is above thirty feet long, and twenty-five broad : an altar, a crucifix, and various ornaments and statues, are all carved out of the salt. The immense size of the different excavations or chambers, with the spacious passages 440 SALT. or galleries, the chapels above mentioned, and a few sheds built for the horses, which are foddered be- low, have given rise to the exaggerated accounts of travellers, that these mines contain several villages, inhabited by miners who never see the light. Al- though these accounts are totally without founda- tion, yet, according to the most authentic de- scriptions of this place, there is room enough for such purposes, the mines being of a stupendous ex- tent, and perfectly dry, except a small spring of fresh water which runs along the bottom. They have been worked since the year 1251, and the miners are constantly relieved every eight hours. Mr. Coxe visited these famous mines before he left Poland; and as his description of the place is from actual observation, we shall subjoin as much of it as is necessary for our purpose. “ Upon our ar- rival at Wielitska,” says this traveller, u we re- paired to the mouth of the mine. Having fastened three separate hammocks round the great rope em- ployed in drawing up the salt, we seated ourselves in a commodious manner, and were gently let down l6o yards below the first layer of salt. Ouitting our hammocks, we passed a long and gradual de- scent, sometimes through broad passages or galleries capable of admitting several carriages abreast; some- times down steps cut in the solid salt, which had the grandeur and commodiousness of the stair-case in a palace. We each carried a light, and several guides preceded us with lamps, the reflection of which, from the glittering sides of the mine, was SALT. 441 extremely beautiful ; but did not cast that luminous splendour which some writers compare to the lustic of precious stones. “ The salt is called z iebna, or green salt, though the colour is iron gray, and when pounded appears like our brown salt. The quality improves in pro- portion to the depth. .Towards the sides and sui- face, it is mixed with earthy or stony particles ; lower it is said to be pure, and to require no pro- cess before it is used. The finest of this gray salt, however, is of a weak quality when compared with our common sea-salt ; it is therefore undoubtedly by no means pure, but blended with extraneous particles, though it serves for common purposes. Being almost as hard as stone, the miners hew it with pick-axes and hatchets, by a tedious operation, into large blocks, many of which weigh six or seven hundred pounds. These masses are raised by a windlass; but the smaller pieces are conveyed up by horses along a winding gallery, which reaches to the surface of the earth. Beside the gray species, the miners sometimes discover small cubes of white salt, as transparent as crystal, hut not in any con- siderable quantity : they find occasionally pieces of coal and petrified wood buried in the salt.” About five leagues to the south-west of Cracow are the salt-mines of Boclmia, of the same depth, and almost as famous as those of Wielitska, but the salt which they yield is not so pure. At Soowar in II ungary there are also considerable mines, of which Dr. Bruckman has left us the fol- 442 SALT. lowing description : “ July l6’, 1724, w'e came to Soowar to view the celebrated salt-work, which fur- nishes the finest salt of the whole kingdom. Hav- ing communicated our intention to an officer of the o salt-work, and asked his leave to go into the cuts, he gave us two guards for guides. We first de- scended about forty fathoms into the well by a rope, seated on what they call leathern dogs ; after which we again descended one hundred fathoms by holding ourselves against the wall and sides of the wells ; and so continuing our journey under ground we found ourselves at last in the cuts, and saw all the alleys cut in the finest rock-salt. They draw it up by a rope and put it into a reservoir, where they cleanse it with salt water. They boil it afterwards with the same water until it becomes of the con- sistence of crystal, and then put it into vessels con- taining about 268 pounds weight each, which they send into Silesia and other countries. There is in this mine one very remarkable thing, and that is a chapel, which can easily contain a hundred people, with an altar, a pulpit, sacristy, chairs, and forms, all cut in the salt-rock. In this chapel they cele- brate divine service once every year, the week after Epiphany, for the officers of the excise and the miners.” The salt-mines near Halle, a town on the banks of the Inn, are on the top of a very high moun- tain. The salt is formed in irregular masses, in- closed in the fissures, and between the laminae of the upper part of the mountain, which is of a SALT. 443 slaty nature. The salt is extracted from this mine in a very peculiar manner. 1 he workmen pene- trate into the mass by forming parallel galleries ; into these they introduce a quantity ot water, which is left there for several months. When the water is supposed to be completely saturated, they conduct it from the gallery through a trough, and evaporate the solution. The walls and lumps of salt which support these subterranean passages, being partly dissolved by the water, give way, and the earth falls in ; but in a few years the rubbish becomes solid, and the passage is again explored. Spain is rich in salt-mines, three of which are described by Bowles in his Natural History of Spain. The first which he mentions is situated in a mountainous country between the kingdoms of Valencia and Castile. The depth of the mine is unknown, since they have already penetrated three hundred feet below the surface, but cannot proceed any further on account of the expense which attends the extraction of the salt. The second mine is in Spanish Navarre, in a chain of hills that extend from east to west. This chain is more than two leagues in extent, and in the most elevated part is situated the village of Val- tierra, on one side of which we find a mine of sal gem. But the third mine which he mentions is by far the most curious. It is near Cardona, a town of Catalonia, about thirty miles from Barcelona, and is literally a rock of solid salt, which rises four or five 444 SALT. hundred feet above the surface of the earth, without any fissure, crevice, or separation into layers, or beds. This immense block is about a league in circumference, and rises as high as any of the neigh- bouring mountains : how far it may be sunk within the earth must be for ever unknown. We have thus enumerated the principal mines of salt, though almost every country contains more or less of this mineral; and among others Peru deserves to be named on account of the remarkable position of its mines, which are situated in the most elevated part of the Andes. NITRE. GENERIC CHARACTER. Very soluble in water. Decomposed by vitriolic acid, the acid of the nitre rising in acrid suffocating vapours. Detonates when thrown on burning coals. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Nitrum nativum. N. fixum nudum, purum, non deliquescens ; aqua, qua solutum fuerat, exhalante, crys- tallos hexaedro-prismaticas utrinque py- ramide hexaedra inaequali terminatas exhi- bent. Lynn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 202. A pure fixed salt, not dissolving in the air j soluble in water ; crystallizes in the form of six-sided prisms terminated by six- sided pyramids. Native Nitre. . Cronst. Miner. 1. p. 344. Kir wan. Miner. 2. p 25. Brogn. Miner. 1. p. 112. This saline substance, so well known in commerce by the name of saltpetre, is found in a native state in several parts of the world, generally under the form of an efflorescence composed of extremely delicate needles, called by the French salpetre de 446 NITRE. kousscige. It is a neutral salt formed by the union of nitrous acid and tixed vegetable alkali, or potash, and although so abundantly diffused in Nature, is very rarely crystallized in the form obtained by means of art, and noticed in the specification. Most countries produce nitre, but not in consi- derable masses; and it may be remarked that, con- trary to sal gem, it is very rarely if ever found within the earth, being always confined to the surface ; and therefore we may reasonably suppose that the air is indispensably necessary to its pro- duction. Chalky plains which are dry and much exposed to the sun, as well as sandy situations which con- tain chalk, are frequently covered with a crust of nitre. Thus it is found in considerable quantities in several plains in Spain, as well as in H ungary, which appears to be a most productive salt country, since it contains the finest mines of sal gem, as well as great abundance of nitre. This salt is found on the surface of the soil to the north-west of Debret- zin ; besides which there are nitrous waters about thirty feet deep in several parts of this country. But the most remarkable collection of native ni- tre is that in Italy, discovered by the Abbe Fortis in the year 1/83. It is situated at Molfetta in a hol- low called the Pulo. In this hollow, which is about one hundred feet deep, there are several natural grottos; in the interior part of which, between strata of compact limestone, nitre is found regularly crystallized. The stone itself is so richly impreg- NITRE. 447 nated with it that it bursts in many places, and forms white efflorescences and crusts resembling ca- nary sugar, mixed with gypsum on its surface : when these efflorescences are scraped oflj more is generated in the space of about a month, but more quickly in summer than in winter. The nearly horizontal calcareous beds, whose edges appear in the interior of the Pulo, vary in thickness from half an inch to six feet. The stone of w hich they are composed is very compact, and abounds in marine bodies converted into calcareous spar. It is the thickest of these layers which are dug into the form of grottos, and the openings into these are said to be much smaller than the interior. Fortis tells us, that from those grottos where the entrance is so small as hardly to admit a child with a lanthorn in his hand, they collect the finest saltpetre. Van Egmont assures us, that nitre is not only found in all those parts of Egypt which are washed by the Nile, but also in ^several other places which are not influenced by the waters of that river. The earth containing this salt is sometimes known by its whitish surface, but it is often to be detected only by its saltish taste. The saltpetre used all over Egypt is extracted from this earth, and the places where it is found are considered as mines belonging to the Grand Signor. They are worked on his ac- count, and therefore any person detected in em- bezzling the salt is sure to be severely punished. “ Ei going to Cairo,” says Van Egmont, “ there are -448 NITRE. several villages on the banks of the Nile, where the inhabitants are chiefly employed in making salt- petre.” The Americans collect a considerable quantity of the saltpetre, with which they make their gunpow- der, from caverns in the mountainous parts of Ken- tucky. These grottos are met with on the sides of calcareous hills, and the earth which they contain is verv full of nitre. %! Besides the places which we have enumerated, nitre is found in Persia, in India, in Arabia ; espe- cially in a valley between mount Sinai and Suez. In Africa, to the south of the cape of Good Hope, on the sandy Karroo desert; and in South America, where the dry pastures near Lima are covered with a nitrous efflorescence. The three circumstances mentioned by naturalists as principally conducive to the formation of nitre are these: first, the presence of chalk, or some cal- careous substance; in this manner, according to Fourcroy, the nitre is formed which appears on the surface of old walls covered with plaster, and from this circumstance great quantities of nitre are usually found in the remains of old buildings. We have already noticed, that in nature this substance is chiefly found in calcareous situations ; and we may add, as a further confirmation, that the Duke de la Rochefoucault has obtained it in the proportion of an ounce to a pound from the chalk of Roche- Guyon. NITRE. 449 The second circumstance favourable to the pro- duction of saltpetre is the putrefaction of animal and vegetable matters. It is well known that stables, dunghills, and other places containing decayed ani- mal or vegetable substances, afford abundance of this salt. Beds for the artificial production of ni- tre have always been established upon this prin- ciple ; and the manner which is pursued to effect the purpose has been thus described : ditches or covered sheds are formed, and left exposed on all sides to the air ; these are then filled with vegetable sub- stances and dung of all kinds, the mass being stirred from time to time to expose a fresh surface to the ac- tion of the air, and water occasionally poured upon it. When the putrefaction is considerably advanced, a small portion of the matter is washed in order to detect the nitre which it may contain ; and if it is found sufficiently abundant, the whole mass is treated in the same manner. Air is the third agent which seems especially re- quisite to the formation of nitre. This is said to be a principal cause of the saline efflorescence on the surface of walls ; and it is to receive all possible as- sistance from this element, that the mixture depo- sited for the production of artificial nitre is so fre- quently stirred. The following method is commonly used to ex- tract this salt from the substances in which it is formed. It is necessary, however, to premise that nitre dissolves very easily in water, which when vol. hi. 2 G 450 NITRE. boiling takes up a quantity nearly equal to twice its own weight ; and upon this principle alone, the salt is extracted from the rubbish that contains it. The saltpetre-makers, after having pounded the plaster or rubbish, put it into a vessel with a hole at the bottom, and cover it with ashes. Through this they pour water already impregnated with ni- tre, in order that it may be completely saturated ; after which the lixivium is evaporated in copper vessels. The first pellicles which they skim off during the evaporation, consist only of the marine salt contained in the rubbish, called grain ; and this, it appears by their regulations, they are obliged to carry to the refining-houses. When the water is evaporated to such a degree that the residue when cool must become solid, they put it into other vessels in which the nitre is crystallized. This salt, which is very impure and dirty, is called nitre of the first boiling, and contains several other salts be- sides saltpetre. The mixture is separated from these extraneous substances by dissolving it in the smallest possible quantity of water, and clarifying the boiling liquor with bullocks blood, which col- lects all the impurities on the surface in the form of scum. The lixivium is then evaporated, and a much purer nitre obtained from it, called nitre of the se- cond boiling. This, however, is yet vitiated by a certain quantity of other salts, from which it is purified by a third boiling; when it is made to crystallize very rapidly, and forms large masses at NITRE. 451 the bottoms of the vessels, while long regular cry- stals appear in the middle, which are called nitre in sticks , and in this state it is used in commerce. Since the invention of gunpowder the demand for nitre has exceedingly increased, this salt being the principal ingredient in that destructive com- position. 2 G 2 BITUMEN. GENERIC CHARACTER. Very inflammable; bums with a thick smoke, and exhales a strong smell. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Bitumen Naphtha. B. fluidum albicans volatile maxime in- flammabile. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 2 77. A fluid bitumen of a whitish colour; vo- latile and very inflammable. Bitumen fluidissimum levissimum. Wal- ler. Syst. Miner. 2. p. Sg. no. 1. Oleum montanum ignem attrahens. Wbl- ters. Miner. 24. Naphtha albicans. Kcempf. Amaen. Exot. 273. Rock Oil. . . . Naphtha. Cronst. Miner. 2. p. 465. Kirtvan, Miner. 2. p. 42. Brogn. Miner. 2. p. 1 9. The different bituminous substances, such as naphtha, petroleum, maltha, and asphaltum, may be considered rather as varieties of each other, de- pending upon their different degrees of solidity, than as distinct species. We shall therefore describe BITUMEN. 453 them all under the head of bitumen, giving naph- tha the preference, as being the most fluid and the least common. Naphtha is perfectly fluid arid diaphanous ; it has a very strong smell, not much unlike the vola- tile oil of turpentine. It is rather unctuous to the touch, and so very light as to float on water. It catches fire very readily, and burns with a blueish flame and thick smoke till it is almost entirely con.- sumed. It is the rarest of the bitumens, and is scarcely ever found in nature in a state of perfect purity : that which is used for commercial purposes is gene- rally adulterated with oil of turpentine. We are told, that in Persia it is more common than else^ where, especially on the banks of the Caspian sea near Baku. The inhabitants Of that neighbour-, hood take advantage of the volatile and inflamma- ble vapour which rises from the earth where the naphtha is found, and kindle it to serve them as a natural fire for their culinary purposes. It is said also, that they employ it to burn their lime ; from which we may conclude that the vapour is very ac- tive. About six hundred yards round the place where these perpetual fires are burning, the people dig wells of thirty feet deep, where they collect the naphtha, which is not perfectly limpid, but of an amber colour. This is distilled, to extract the pure naphtha used in medicine. After the bitumen has undergone this process, there remains a blackish re- siduarn, which serves the Persians to burn in their 454 BITUMEN. lamps. This naphtha, and the petrol which accom- panies it, produces the Khan of Baku a revenue of near ten thousand pounds. Naphtha is likewise found in Calabria, in Sicily, in America, &c. ; but it must be observed, that the travellers who have noticed the bitumen in these places are very likely to confound it with the va- riety which we shall next describe. A spring of yellow naphtha, very inflammable, and burning away without leaving any residuum, was discovered in the year 1802, near the village of Amiano, in the duchy of Parma. This source is sufficiently abundant to furnish the necessary quantity of naphtha to illuminate the city of Genoa. But when the oil is used for this purpose, it be- hoves the persons employed to be very careful of their reservoir, lest by approaching too near with a light they should inflame the whole quantity. Petroleum is so nearly allied to naphtha, that it is only to be distinguished from it by being some- what thicker, and of a darker colour. Like naph- tha it is very inflammable, burning with a thick black smoke, and leaving hardly any residuum. In France there are several places which produce this mineral, particularly at Gabian, a village in the department of Herault, where the petroleum is found floating on the surface of some water, and is known in commerce by the name of oil of Gabian. It is likewise found in Auvergne, pear Clermont; in the department of Landes, near Dax ; and in the salt springs in the department of the Lower BITUMEN. 455 Rhine. Wells are dug in some of these places 120 feet deep, where they iind the petrol mixed with sand in the proportion of about ten pounds in the hundred weight. To extract the bitumen from its earthy bed the workmen put the sand into large coppers, where it is mixed with water and boiled. The bitumen separated by this means is afterwards distilled, and pure petroleum obtained from it. At mount Zibio near Modena, in Italy , the springs containing petrol are situated in the bottom of a valley, and are enclosed by a 1 l iable rock, com- posed of a mixture of clay, chalk, and sand. 1 he petrol swims on the surface, but scarcely makes its appearance in the winter, when the water is most abundant. Wells are dug to receive the water of the springs, from whence the floating petrol is drawn up in buckets. In India , the kingdom of Ava produces abun- dance of petrol. The principal place is on the river Ava, about three miles from Erraouaddy, where it is said there are five hundred wells in one hill. At about 180 feet below the surface of the ground they find a bed of coal, from whence the petrol proceeds, and this is drawn up from the bottom of the wells in iron buckets. The heat of those wells is so excessive, that we are assured the workmen are con- stantly in a state of perspiration. England produces this mineral, and some is found in Scotland , but not in such abundance as in other countries. 456 BITUMEN. Maltha is of a blacker colour and of a thicker consistence than petroleum, becoming almost solid in cold weather. Besides the smell which is peculiar to bitumens in general, it possesses the other pro- perties of these inflammable substances, burning with abundance of flame and smoke, but leaving: more residuum behind than either naphtha or pe- troleum : it is also heavier than those oils, though still light enough to float on water. From this de- scription it will readily be seen that maltha is a mere variety of the other two bitumens, scarcely deserving of another name. From their great resem- blance to each other, it is not at all surprising that they should frequently be confounded, since they are often met with in the same spot, and are used for similar purposes. This kind of bitumen, however, is more parti- cularly found near Clermont, in the department of Puy-de-Dome, in a place called Put/ de la P£gey where it covers the ground with a viscous varnish, that adheres with great tenacity to the traveller’s feet. Maltha is also found in Persia, in the route from Schiras to Bender-Congo. It is found in a mountain called Darap, w7here it is carefully col- lected, and carried to the king of Persia, as a sove- reign balsam for the cure of wounds. Maltha resembles soft pitch, and is used for the same purposes, such as paying the sides of boats, &e. Asphaltum is a similar bitumen in a more con- BITUMEN. 45 7 densed state ; solid, dry, and so friable as to be pulverised with the greatest ease. It is often per- fectly black and opaque, and smells very strong when it is either heated or rubbed ; in the last case it becomes electric. Small and very thin pieces are semitransparent, and when looked through appear of a red colour. The surface of the lake of Judea yields a great quantity of this bitumen, and from thence has ob- tained the name of the Lake of Asphaltes. The asphaltum brought by the springs of this lake is driven by the wind to the shore, where it hardens, and is collected by the neighbouring inhabitants for commercial purposes. From the disagreeable smell that this bitumen exhales, travellers have gone so far as to say that birds flying over the lake are suffocated, and that from this circumstance the lake with many has been called the Dead Sea. There is also a lake of asphaltum in the island of Trinidad in the West Indies, which was visited by Mr. To- bin in the year 1801; from whose account we learn, that the lake is situated about a mile from the gulf, on an eminence of from eighty to a hundred feet above the level of the sea. It is about a mile across, intersected every where by streams of pure clear water, which abound with small fish. In many places even in the centre of the lake, on the solid pitch, are said to be spots having the appear- ance of so many islands, on which grow plants and shrubs of various kinds. The water of the streams 458 BITUMEN. is of various depths, from two to ten feet, and the channels are continually fluctuating; one of eight or ten feet to-day, may to-morrow be entirely closed up, and others formed where yesterday was a solid mass of pitch. From this Mr. Tobin thinks it evi- dent that the asphaltum itself is supported by a lake of water underneath, but he is unable to form any idea of the thickness or substance of the stratum ot bitumen. Asphaltum and maltha were both used by the Egyptians, mixed with the resin of the cedar, in embalming their dead bodies ; and it is observed, that the mummies are strongly impregnated with these materials even to the centre of the bones. There is still another kind of bitumen which may be mentioned in this place, though very dif- ferent in some of its properties from those we have already mentioned. Magellan calls it elastic petrol, Kirwan mineral caoutchouc, and Brogmart elastic bitumen. The properties which it possesses, in common with other bitumens, are its strong smell, particularly when soft; its tendency to inflamma- bility, and its being light enough to swim on water; but it differs essentially in its texture, and is so elas- tic that it can hardly be distinguished from Indian rubber, having the same property of removing the traces of a black lead pencil from paper. It is found in the same places as petroleum, that is, among spars and lead ores, either in lumps, or in a cylindrical form, like bits of thin branches or stalks of vegetables. BITUMEN. 459 This very singular fossil was first discovered in the year 1/85, near Castleton in Derbyshire, in the fissures of slate, but in very inconsiderable quantities. I11 colour and consistency it exactly resembles the gum-resin brought from Brazil, and known by the name of caoutchouc or Indian rubber. COAL. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Bitumen Lithanthrax. B. opacam nigrum fragile cum flam* ma ardens et ardendo fumum ni- grum eructans, Linn. Syst. Nat. Gwel. 3. p. 281. Black, opake, and brittle j burns with a flame, and throws off a black smoke. Bitumen lapideum shisto vel aliis terris mixtum et induratum. Waller. Syst. Miner. 2. p. 98. no. 6. Pix montana dura rudis fragilis. Wolters. Miner. 25. Common Coal. . . . Cronst. Miner. 2. p. 476. Patrin, Hist, dts Miner. 5. p.315. Brogn. Miner. 2. p. 2. Coal, of all the substances which naturalists have arranged in the class of inflammables, is by far the most serviceable to mankind. Nature has dealt it to us with an unsparing hand, and has provided mines of this mineral which seem to defy the power of man to exhaust. England and France, where the different branches of manufacture are carried to a greater extent and perfection than in the other countries of Europe, are, at the same time, the COAL. 46*1 most abundantly provided with mines of coal, as if Nature was determined to second the exertions of an industrious people by giving them the best pos- sible assistance. The form and uses of coal are too well known to require any description ; we shall therefore confine ourselves to an account of its disposition in the bowels of the earth, and to some of the principal collieries in different parts of Europe. Coal is always found in masses, sometimes in a heap, most frequently in beds ; but rarely in veins. The beds are disposed within the earth with differ- ent degrees of inclination, and in almost every pos- sible direction. These beds of coal are supposed by most naturalists to be a deposit formed by the waters of the ocean, which once covered our con- tinent. They are never found single, but generally disposed in strata one above another. The beds of coal are separated by layers of stone, which are nearly of the same nature in all coal-mines. Those which form the side and the top of a stratum of coal are a sort of friable slate, containing more or less of bitumen, while the bottom is generally more compacted and mixed with micaceous sand. It is remarkable that this slaty kind of stone, which so generally accompanies the coal, should frequently contain the impressions of plants, and particularly ferns, some of which are met with in the finest state of preservation. Patrin informs us that the coal-mines in France are generally surrounded by primitive rocks, espe- 462 COAL. cially the rich mines of Forez and Auvergne ; but it must also be remarked, that we find them ab- solutely enclosed in earths of a secondary forma- tion, such as those of Flanders and the mines of our own country. A circumstance mentioned by Patrin, which deserves to be attended to, is this : the beds of coal in these mines are always separated from each other by free stone and slate, sometimes of an enormous thickness, although it often hap- pens that nothing is to be found in the neighbour- ing earth which can contribute to the formation of these stony layers. This almost amounts to a de- monstration that they are immediately produced by a chemical combination of nature, and not by any accumulation of pre-existent materials. Layers of lime-stone also occur between beds of coal, but always (I believe we may say without ex- ception) they are lined both at top and bottom with slate. All the calcareous ridge on the French side of the Alps contains beds of coal enclosed in the chalk, sometimes mixed with shells. A great num- ber of these beds have been discovered, and several worked from Lower Provence to the fountains of Meillerie, on the lake of Geneva. Several, and especially those of the intermediate countries, are noted for their extraordinary elevation above the surface of the sea. Those of Provence occupy a space of ten leagues in length from the south- east to the north-west, from Nans to Gardonne, near Aix. They are at the foot of great mountains, in hills composed of alternate layers of chalk and clay; COAL. • 4G3 in the former of these run the beds of coal of two or three feet thick ; but it is remarked that none of the layers of clay contain any of this mineral. Among the mines of coal which are remarkable for their local elevation, may be mentioned that of Saint-Oulx, a town of Piedmont. According to the barometrical measurement of Dr. Guerin, it is 1 80 fathoms above the surface of the sea. Although this mine may be rich, it has been worked only two years, on account of its almost inaccessible elevation. This height, however, is comparatively nothing to that in which Leblond observed layers of coal in Peru. He tells us that he found beds of this sub- stance in the Andes, near Santa-Fe-de-Bogota, which were situated two thousand two hundred fathoms above the ocean. In Scotland the mines of Carron, of Edinburgh, and of Glasgow, are chiefly distinguished for their produce. There are three beds of coal at Carron, the first of which is about 40 fathoms below the surface, the second 50, and the third 55. Only two beds are worked at Edinburgh, and one of them is remarkable for its situation, the opening of the mine being hardly forty fathoms from the sea, and only three fathoms above high-water mark. The mines of Glasgow stretch from the north-east to the south-west, and occupy a considerable space of ground. Here are several beds of coal, placed on each other, and continued nearly from the sur- face of the ground to the depth of three hundred 464 COAL. feet ; but of these beds there are only two or three that are worth the trouble of working;. The principal mines of this useful mineral in England are those of Newcastle and Whitehaven. The town of Newcastle absolutely stands on beds of coal, which extend to a considerable distance round the place. There are seven or eight beds of this mineral, one above the other, and all inclined in a south-east direction ; the lowest is a hundred fa- thoms from the surface of the earth. But the mines near Whitehaven, which have been described by Nicholson and Burn, in the History of Cumber- land, will afford the best idea of these wonderful places. We learn from this account, that “ these coal-mines are, perhaps, the most extraordinary of any in the known world. The principal entrance for men and horses is by an opening at the bottom of a hill, through a long passage hewn in the rock ; which, by a steep descent, leads down to the lowest vein of coal. The greatest part of this descent is through spacious galleries, which continually inter- sect each other ; all the coal being cut away, ex- cept large pillars, which, in deep parts of the mine, are three yards high, and twelve square at the base. The mines are sunk to the depth of a hundred and thirty fathoms, and are extended under the sea to places where, above them, the water is of sufficient depth for ships of large burthen. These are the deepest coal-mines that have hitherto been wrought; and perhaps the miners have not in any other part COAL. 465 of the globe penetrated to so great a depth below the surface of the sea; the very deep mines in Hun- gary, Peru, and elsewhere, being situated in moun- tainous countries, where the surface of the earth is elevated to a great height above the level of the ocean. “ There are here three strata of coal, which lie at a considerable distance, one above another ; the communication between each is preserved by pits. The vein is not always regularly continued in the same inclined plane, but is sometimes interrupted by hard rock ; and in those places the earth seems to have sunk downwards from the surface, while the part adjoining hath retained its antjent situation. These breaks the miners call dykes ; and when they meet with one of them, they first observe whether the direction of the strata is higher or lower than in the part where they have been working. If, to employ their own terms, it is cast down , they sink a pit to it with little trouble ; but should it, on the contrary, be cast up to any considerable height, they are frequently obliged to carry a long level through the rock with much expense and difficulty, till they again arrive at the vein of coal. “ In these deep and extensive works, the greatest care is requisite to keep them continually ventilated with perpetual currents of fresh air, to expel the damps and other noxious exhalations, and supply the miners with a sufficiency of that vital fluid. In the deserted works, large quantities of these damps are frequently collected, and often remain for a long VOL. nr, 2 II 466 COAL. time without doing any mischief ; but when, by some accident, they are set on lire, they produce dreadful and destructive explosions, and burst out of the pits with great impetuosity, like the fiery eruptions from burning mountains. “ The coal in these mines hath several times been set on fire by the fulminating damp, and con- tinued burning many months, until large streams of water were conducted into the mines, and suf- fered to fill those parts where the coal was on fire. Several collieries have been entirely destroyed by such fires : of these there are instances near Newr- castle, and in other parts of England, and in the shire of Fife in Scotland ; in some of which places the fire has continued burning for ages. To pre- vent as much as possible the collieries from being filled with these pernicious damps, it has been found necessary to search for those crevices in the coal whence they issue, and then confine them within a narrow space, from which they are after- wards conducted through long tubes into the open air, where, being set on fire, they consume in per- petual flames, as they continually arise out of the earth. The late Mr. Spedding, who was the great engineer of those works, having observed that the fulminating damp could only be kindled by flame, and was not liable to be set on fire by red-hot iron, nor by the sparks produced by the collision of flint and steel, invented a machine, in which, while a steel wheel is turned round with a very rapid motion, flints are applied to it, and by the abun- COAL. 467 dance of fiery sparks emitted, the miners are en- abled to carry on their work in places where the flame of a lamp or candle would occasion dreadful explosions. Without some invention of this sort, the working of these mines would long ago have been impracticable, so greatly are they annoyed by these inflammable damps. Fewer mines, however, have been ruined by fire than by inundations; an 1 here that noble piece of mechanism the steam- engine displays its beneficial effects. When the four engines belonging to this colliery are all at work, they discharge 1228 gallons of water every minute, at thirteen strokes; and, after the same rate, 1,76*8,320 gallons every twenty-four hours.” The road from the Whitehaven coal-mines to the water- side is mostly on a gentle descent, and provided with an iron rail-way : this, by removing much of the friction, exceedingly facilitates the car- riage of the coals to the shipping, which are laid along-side of the quay to receive them. When the waggons are loaded, they run without any assistance on the rail-way till they arrive at the quay, where the bottom striking out, the waggon discharges its con- tents into a large fleue, or, as the workmen term it, a hurry , through which it rattles into the hold of the vessel with a noise like thunder. A man is placed in each waggon to guide it, who checks its progress, if necessary, by pressing down one of the wheels with a piece of wood provided for the purpose. When the waggons are unloaded they are carried 46*8 COAL. round by a turn-frame, and drawn back to the pits by a single horse along another road. The principal mines in France are those of Lyonois, Forez, and Saint-Etienne. The two for- mer are situated in a valley which was formerly covered by the sea, and which extends from the Rhone to the Loire between two chains of primi- tive mountains. They occupy a space of six or seven leagues in length, and the coal rests upon the usual layers of stone and slate. The beds of coal near St. Etienne are placed in the earth almost in a horizontal direction, and are generally from three to six feet thick. The layers of slate which form the upper surface of the coal in these mines are full of vegetable impressions, and the frequent occurrence of this phenomenon has been a strong reason with many for supposing that coal owes its origin to de- cayed vegetable matter. There are several hills in the neighbourhood of St. Etienne where the mines have been on lire, and there are some, according to Patrin, where the fire yet subsists. It has been so violent, says this mi- neralogist, that we meet with enormous masses of slate which have been almost entirely converted into scoria. The coal-mine in the neighbourhood of Liege is the most productive of any in Germany . It oc- cupies a space of two miles, and consists of more than forty beds of coal, placed one above another, and separated by strata of stone from thirty to a COAL. 46j hundred feet in thickness. These layers of coal are situated at a place called Vert-Bois, to the north- west of the city ; and it has been remarked that the beds incline to the south, while those of a neigh- bouring mountain (to the south-east of Liege) dip to the north. Naturalists suppose these to be part of the same layers, which, passing under the large val- ley that separates this mountain from Vert-Bois, rise again on the opposite side, and thus take the form of a boat. There are different opinions among geologists re- specting the origin of coal. Some suppose this combustible substance to be produced by the de- composition of the soft parts of the immense quan- tity of organized bodies, of which we find almost every where the solid remains. But unfortunately this conjecture, which appears so natural, is liable to several strong objections. One, is the presence of vegetables, scarcely decomposed, which are often met with in the middle of beds of coal. The others, the want of direct experiments to prove that orga- nized bodies give out bitumen during their decom- position. Without stopping to discuss these points, we shall merely give the general conclusions of na- turalists as they are mentioned by Brogniart : 1. That coal was formed either at the same time, or after the existence of organized bodies. 2. That this mineral, when first formed, was liquid, and of a great degree of purity. 3. That the cause which produces this deposit is COAL. 470 several times renewed in the same place, and nearly under the same circumstances. 4. That the cause, whatever it may be, is nearly the same over all the earth ; since the beds of coal always exhibit nearly the same phenomena in their structure and accidental circumstances. 5. That these beds have not been deposited by any violent revolution ; but, on the contrary, in the most tranquil manner ; since the organized bodies that are found in them are often entire, and the leaves of vegetables impressed in the slate which covers the coals are hardly ever bruised, or other- wise deranged. BLACK LEAD. GENERIC CHARACTER. Opaque. Of a dark metallic lustre, leaving a strong mark on paper. Very brittle, breaking into fragments of no determinate figure. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Graphites Plumbago. G. nitons metallici, texturae schistosse. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 284. Of a metallic lustre and slaty fracture. Molybdaenum tritura caerulescente im- palpabile at subsquamosum. Syst. Nat. Linn. xu. 3. p. 121. no. 1. a |3. Ferrrum nigricans splendens, unctuo- sum inguinans. Woltersd. Mi- ner. 31. Ferrum corrosum volatile mineralisa- tum, minera nigrescente squamosa pictoria magneti refractaria. Waller. Syst. Miner. 2. p. 249. no. 14. Black Lead Cronst. Miner. 2. p. 451. Kiriran, Aliner. 2. p. 58. Brogn. Miner. 2. p. 53. This useful mineral is found to be of an inflam- mable nature, and therefore is placed among other combustible substances. It is well known for the flue blackish trace which it leaves when rubbed on 472 BLACK LEAD. paper, and which renders it of such essential ser- vice to the artist ; especially as its marks can be entirely removed with a piece of the elastic resin known by the name of Indian rubber*. According to Brogniart, black lead appears to be entirely confined to the primitive earths. He says that it sometimes enters into the composition of the rocks which form these earths, sometimes it is found in lumps or in beds of a considerable thickness, and it is also met with in layers of argillaceous slate. In the department of Arriege, in France , it is found in large compact masses. It occurs likewise in the department of Mont Blanc ; in that of La Sture, near Vinay ; and in the mountain of Lubacco, where little veins of it are found in granite. In Spain it occurs in the mountains of Arragon, and near Casalla, and Ronda in the kingdom of Gre- nada; but none of these places are to be compared with Borrowdale, in England , for the production of black lead. This valley, which is situated in the south-east part of Cumberland, about four miles from Keswick, is enclosed by rude and lofty hills, in one of which the black lead is found in sufficient abundance to supply almost all the world. The mines are said to lie to the east of a very steep mountain, which forms the west side of the vale of Stomatliwaite. There are two workings ; the lower one is about three hundred and forty yards above the level of the sea, and its perpendicular depth about 105 yards; the upper one is nearly 390 yards * See Syringe Tree. BLACK LEAD. 473 above the sea, and its depth about thirty. The strata of the mountain are very irregular and broken, and the black lead appears to have been found in the fissures. The mineral is described as lying in the mine in form resembling a tree, having a body or root, and veins, or branches, spreading from it in different directions : the root, or body, is the finest black lead; the branches, the worst; and even these decrease in quality in proportion as they are distant from the main trunk. The black lead is generally imbedded in a blue rock, which is often stained as black as the mineral itself to the depth of two or three feet. In the deepest mine the black lead lies in two veins, which cross each other, and the richest lead is said to be at the point of inter- section. These veins fall perpendicularly to the depth of forty fathoms. Tradition says that we owe the discovery of this valuable mine to a storm, which blew down a large oak, whose roots, tearing up several fragments of the rock where it had grown, discovered the lead. For some time after the mineral was found it was only used to mark sheep ; but as its properties became better known its value increased, and the price of course kept pace with the demand ; so that when Mr. Pennant visited Cumberland in the year 1772, the best kind might be obtained for twelve shillings a pound, which novy sells for sixty. The mines are opened at intervals for a certain period, and then closed up again. Formerly this was only permitted to be done every seven years ; but it is said that 474 BLACK LEAD. they are now opened more frequently, and that the persons employed are watched very narrowly to pre- vent their stealing the mineral. Some years ago, says Magellan, this mine appeared to be almost exhausted ; but by digging a few yards through the strata underneath, according to the advice of an experienced miner, whose opinion had been long unattended to, the workmen discovered a very thick and rich vein of black lead, to the great joy of the proprietors and advantage of the public. The lead from this mine is acknowledged to be the best in Europe ; Magellan having seen various specimens from different countries, but none of them were either of a texture or quality to compare with the lead of Borrowdale. The lead is prepared for pencils by being cut into a proper shape, and placed in quadrangular grooves made of cypress wood, over which a slip of the same is placed, and the wood worked into small cylinders like quills. But the use of black lead is not confined to the manufactory of pencils ; it is of great service to chemists, either in the shape of crucibles, or mixed with different ingredients for covering the retorts and other vessels which are intended to resist a strong fire. Fourcroy considers its power to prevent iron from rusting as one of its most important properties. The pipes of stoves, the back parts of grates, and other utensils exposed to the action of fire and air, are coated with powder of black lead to preserve them from rusting, which is applied to their surface by simply rubbing with 1JLACK LEAD. 4J 5 a brush. One of the useful applications of this powder is to smooth the surfaces of wood-work which slide one over the other, such as wooden screws, See. and it is said that the black lead pro- duces a better effect on them than either greasy or oily substances. From this mineral containing about a tenth of its weight of iron, some naturalists have placed it among the iron ores ; nevertheless it must belong more properly to the class of inflammables, since it has been observed to burn away almost entirely when exposed to an intense heat in an open vessel. AMBER. GENERIC CHARACTER. Smooth and shining. o Fracture conchoidal ; becomes electric by friction, and emits an agreeable smell. Burns with a greenish or blueish flame. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Succinum jelectricum. Succinum. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 282. Electrum, diaphanum, solidum. Solid diaphanous amber. Bitumen solidum durum nitidum. Suaveolens. Curtheus. Miner. 48. Succinum pellucidum et opacum. Waller. Miner. 200. 201. Ambeb Cronst. Miner. 2. p. 460. Kirwan, Miner. 2. p. 65. Patrin, Hist, des Miner. 5. p.346. Brogn. Miner. 2. p. 4 9. The colour of amber varies from a very pale yellow to a deep red : it likewise differs in its degrees of transparency, some being found opaque, while other specimens are very pellucid. It is generally of a compact texture, and bard enough to receive a AMBER. 477 polish ; on which account it is used among other articles of jewellery, and is particularly prized when it contains any insect or vegetable within its substance. It has been long known for its elec- trical property, being very easily excited by friction so as to attract small pieces of paper and other light bodies. Amber is found, but not in any great quantity, in several parts of Europe : the principal place where they collect this combustible mineral, is in Eastern Prussia, on the shores of the Baltic between Konigsberg and Memel, on which it is supposed to be thrown by the waves. In this country it is found also at the depth of about a hundred feet, reposing on wood-coal in lumps of from half an ounce to four or five pounds. Several parts of the Mediterranean yield this substance, especially the coast of Genoa, and the eastern coast of Sicily. The amber which is found within the bowels of the earth is not confined to Prussia, but is like- wise met with in Lithuania, in Poland, and in Italy. It ought to be remarked that it generally occurs in a blackish sand, among fossil or bituminous wood ; and we may reasonably suppose that it was at one time in a fluid or at least a soft state, since among the pieces collected we frequently meet with some that contain the remains of organized bodies. These are chiefly of the insect tribe, and the speci- mens containing them are so valuable that many have been tempted to deceive the public by intro- ducing flies and other insects artificially, and this 478 AMBER. is often so cleverly managed that it is almost impos- sible to detect the fraud. Amber is rarely found in large pieces: that in the cabinet of the king of Prussia is reckoned of an extraordinary size, being a foot in diameter, and of a lenticular shape. We are told indeed of a column of amber six feet high in the gallery of Florence, but that must certainly have been formed of many pieces cemented together. Among the specimens of this mineral deserving of notice, may be mentioned those in the hall of the chateau of Tzarsco-Celo, near Petersburg, where the wainscot was disposed in compartments formed entirely of plates of amber of seven or eight inches long. This rich decoration was a present from the king of Prussia. When Patrin was at Grodno in the year 1 777, his friend Gilibert, who was then di- rector of the Academy, showed him an old Spanish rosary, of amber, with an insect in every bead. Brydone, in his Travels in Sicily, says, that in the mouth of the Giaretta (the antient Simethus), which falls into the sea near Catana, the people find a considerable quantity of very fine amber, which they carry to Catana, where it is worked into crosses, rosaries, &c. Several of the pieces, according to this traveller, are full of flies and other insects. He tells us that the amber from this place is by far more electric, and of a much stronger smell, than that from the Baltic. The origin of amber has always been involved in obscurity, and many uncertain opinions have been AM HER. 479 hazarded to account for it. Some suppose it to be a bituminous juice which exudes from the earth, and afterwards assumes the consistence in which we find it; others, that it is not a mineral but a vege- table substance, which formerly trickled from the trunk of some resinous tree and became afterwards condensed into a solid form. This conjecture car- ries with it a great appearance of probability, as it readily accounts for the insects which we find with- in the amber, and which may have been entangled in the juice while in a fluid state. The antient mythologists account for the origin of this singular substance without any difficulty. They tell us that when Phaeton, for his rash and pre- sumptuous conduct, was precipitated from heaven on the banks of the Po, his sisters bewailed his death so bitterly, that the gods, out of compassion for their sorrow, changed them into poplars : these poplars still retained all the sensibility of their representatives; they continually wept, but their tears were drops of amber. GOLD. GENERIC CHARACTER. Colour yellow. Soluble only in aqua regia. Melts at 32 degrees of Wedgwood’s pyrometer; but re- mains unaltered in the strongest fire. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Aurum nativum. A. nudum ponderosissimum ductile, visibile matrici adhaerens. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 378. A naked, heavy, ductile metal, visibly ad- hering to a matrix. Aurum nativum genuini coloris. Cartheus. Miner. 77- Aurum nativum radicatum. Waller. Miner. 321. Native Gold. . Cronst. Miner. 2. p. 520. Kirwan, Miner. 2. p. 93. Patrin, Hist, des Miner. 5. p. 158. Brogn. Miner. 2. p. 264. This precious metal appears under various forms, and in different situations in the earth. It is occa- sionally found in solid masses, as in Hungary, Peru? and Transylvania : in a granular form, as in the GOLD. 481 West Indies; in a vegetable shape, like branches or twigs of plants; composed of thin plates cover- ing other bodies, as in Siberia; or in octaedral or eight-sided crystals, as in some mines in Hungary. The name of native gold is given to this mineral when it appears in the mines under a metallic form so as to be readily known. The largest specimen of native gold which has been as yet found in Europe, was discovered some years ago in the county of Wicklow in Ireland: it is said to have weighed twenty-two ounces. Several other pieces exceeding an ounce were found at the same place, in sand covered with turf, near a rivulet. Native gold is scarcely ever found in a state of perfect purity. That which approaches nearest to perfection is of a fine yellow colour, but in general it is more or less alloyed with silver, copper, iron, or platina; in consequence of which it becomes either of a brassy colour, or of a greenish- or gray- yellow. It frequently happens, however, that gold is not apparent in its native state, but concealed in small quantities in other minerals, from whence it is extracted by art whenever the quantity is sup- posed to be sufficient to pay for the trouble and ex- pense of obtaining it. The sulphureous metals and other minerals which contain gold, scarcely exhibit a single character that indicates its presence. It has been remarked that the sulphures of iron which contain the most are of a bright yellow colour; hut this character is not to vol. hi. 2 i 4S2 GOLD. be depended upon, and is often, perhaps, without foundation. M ines of gold are very rare in the northern or even in the temperate climates. One only has been discovered in France, which is situated in the valley of Oisans in Dauphiny. This has been known since the year 1 78 1 , and some pretty specimens of gold have been obtained from it; but they are chiefly preserved in cabinets, as the vein in general is too poor to pay the expense of working. Gold-dust has been found, however, mixed with the sand at the bottom of several rivers on the continent. The Rhine between Strasburg and Philipsburg ; the Rhone in Franche Comte ; the Gege and the Gar- don, in the Cevennes ; the Arriege near Pamiers ; the Garonne near Toulouse ; and the Salat near Saint-Girons in the Pyrenees, have all been men- tioned as producing this precious mineral in small quantities. Most great rivers contain gold amongst their sands, even those which do not rise in countries where gold-mines exist ; — therefore we may readily suppose that the rivers which pass near mines of this metal must occasionally wash away some of their riches. Thus the river Avanyos in Transyl- vania is said to afford subsistence to seven hun- dred gipsy families, who collect the gold from its bed. In Brasil, the gold is found in such great abundance, that the torrents are often di- verted into new channels, with great labour and GOLD. 483 expense, in ol der to collect the gold deposited by the stream. A gold-mine was discovered in the reign of Peter the Great in the mountains of granite which skirt the eastern side of the lake Ladoga near Alo- netz. When first this mine was worked, the vein containing the metal was supposed to be inex- haustible. Masses of native gold of a pound an l more in weight were found near the surface of the earth, but after digging several fathoms, these flat- tering appearances vanished all at once, and left the workmen nothing but a barren vein of quartz. Several specimens of gold from this mine, as rich as those brought from Peru, are preserved in the cabinet of mineralogy of the Academy of Sciences at Petersburg. Several parts of Asia contain gold-mines of con- siderable importance, especially the southern coun- tries of this extensive quarter of the world. Among the rivers and rivulets which produce this metal may be mentioned the Pactolus, a little river of Lydia, in which tradition tells us, that Midas washed himself when he turned into gold whatever he touched, and that Croesus afterwards derived all his riches from the same place. One would sup- pose from* the present state of this celebrated river, that the covetous monarch left very little for pos- terity. China and Japan are rich in gold-mines; and the kingdom of Siam is, perhaps, of all the countries in Asia, the most productive in this metal ; at least 481 GOLD. if we may judge by appearances, — since the king’s domestic utensils, as well as the troughs for his white elephant, and most of the ornaments of the temples, are of solid gold. In the African continent gold seems to be very abundant. Tavernier tells us that in the country of Sofala, of Mosambique, and of Monomotapa, on the eastern coast of Africa, gold is found in dry places, scattered in the earth at the depth of two or three feet from the surface. The gold from Africa, which is so abundantly spread in commerce, is all in the form of dust; from whence Brogniart conjectures, that the greatest part is collected from the earth which has been left by the rivers. The negroes frequently carry this precious dust in the quills of ostriches or vultures. The country of Bambouk furnishes a considerable quantity of gold, which is sold on the western coast of Africa, from the mouth of the river Senegal to Cape Palmas. It is mostly found in spangles, near the surface of the earth, or in the beds of rivulets, from whence it is separated by repeatedly washing the sand. The principal part of the gold which is carried to Morocco, to Fez, and to Algiers, by the caravans from Tombuctoo, which cross the great desert of Zahara, is also found in the same coun- try. But America is the quarter of the world where gold seems to have been spread with the greatest profusion. It is chiefly found in spangles, though it likewise occurs in veins mixed with other metals. GOLD. 485 South America, especially Brasil and Chili, are the countries which produce the most ; we must not, however, omit Mexico, which is rich in veins o 1 silver containing more or less of gold. But all those veins which are found in mountainous coun- tries, and which are so rich in silver, contain, com- paratively, but little gold. It is in the valleys and the plains, near the surface of the sandy soil, where this metal is principally disseminated, and from whence, as we have before remarked, it is sepa- rated by repeated washings. Indeed there appears to he scarcely any part of the torrid zone where the earth is of a sandy and ferruginous nature, that does not contain gold in a greater or less proportion. Gold is a metal in which are united the most useful properties, without any prejudicial mixture: it has ever been regarded as the most perfect and the most precious of all the metallic substances, and has consequently been sought after in all ages, and by every nation. Ductile and malleable in a supreme degree, it takes, wTith ease, every form that can be given it by the art of man. It is sus- ceptible of the most beautiful polish, and its colour, which is as engaging as it is unalterable, makes it, of all other metals, the most proper for orna- ments. As a proof of its great ductility, an ounce of this metal may be formed into a thread of seventy- three leagues in length, and the same quantity may be beaten into sixteen hundred leaves, of nine square inches each. This great ductility, however. GOLD. 486 is very much impaired when the smallest quantity of arsenic or tin is mixed with the gold, a single grain of these metals being sufficient to alter a whole ingot. Gold has neither smell nor taste ; it is neither attacked by air, water, or even by lire, Boyle and Kunckel having exposed it during several weeks to a violent heat, without its having lost a single grain. It is true that when exposed to the focus of a large burning lens, it is evaporated, but without changing its metallic state. This evaporation was proved by exposing a plate of silver to the fumes of the melt- ed gold, which was soon found to be perfectly gilt. The operation, however, cannot be effected without the assistance of a most powerful burning glass, such as that belonging to Mr. Parker in Fleet-street, which is three feet in diameter. This valuable metal is not soluble in either of the mineral acids taken separately ; but when the nitrous and marine acids are united, they form a men- struum that dissolves gold, and which from thence has obtained the name of aqua regia. If a solution of gold in this liquor be properly mixed with tin dissolved in the same menstruum, a fine purple powder is precipitated, (called by the name of Cassius, its inventor,) which produces a beautiful lasting purple colour. This powder, when mixed with vitreous substances, is used in preference to all others by the painters in enamel and glass manu- facturers. If volatile alkali be added to the same solution of GOLD. 487 gold in aqua regia, a reddish yellow powder is pre- cipitated, which is called durum Julminans. A lew grains of this powder explodes with a prodigious noise when exposed in a metallic spoon or plate, over a candle, coals, or a red-hot iron ; or when by other means it is sufficiently heated, the powder detonates with a crash sixty-four times greater than an equal quantity of gunpowder. A moderate degree of heat is sufficient to produce this amazing explosion, by which the most violent effects are produced. Ten or twelve grains exploded on a metal plate, perforated it completely ; and a few ounces having accidentally exploded together, shat- tered the doors and windows of the apartment where it was drying. liven simple trituration, 01 pei- cussion alone, is enough to cause this powdei to explode with all its violence. A melancholy in- stance of this is related by Macquer, of a young man of his acquaintance, two-and-twenty years old, who, in closing a small phial of this powder, kin- dled a little by the friction of the glass stopple : the bottle instantly burst into pieces ; and the con- cussion was so great that he was struck to the ground, and totally lost his sight. PLATA N A. GENERIC CHARACTER. Colour white, between tin and silver. Soluble only in aqua regia. Malleable and ductile as gold. Infusible in the lire of a furnace, but yielding to the heat of a powerful burning glass. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Platina granulata. Platina. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 383. Platina del Pinto. Waller. Syst. Miner. 2. p. 365. no. 7. Platine natif ferrifere. Haiiy. Platina Cronst. Miner. 2. p. 567- Kirwan, 2. p. 103. Patrin, Hist, des Miner. 4. p. 323. Brogn. Miner. 2. p. 275. This singular metal, which we have scarcely known for more than half a century, is brought to us from Peru in a granular state. It is of a whitish iron- gray colour, is mixed with quartz and ferruginous sand in different proportions, and often contains particles of gold or quicksilver. In a state of purity it is the heaviest of all metals, its specific gravity PLATINA. 4S9 being greater than that of gold. It is so refractory in the tire, that the greatest degree of heat which can possibly be obtained with the assistance of oxygen gas is scarcely sufficient to melt it ; though the solar rays, when concentrated by the most powerful means, fuse it in less than two minutes. What we have here said must be understood of pure platina ; for when mixed with other metals and semi-metals, especially with arsenic, it melts very easily. Don Antonio de Ulloa, who, in concert with the French astronomers, was sent to Peru in order to measure a degree of the meridian at the equator, is the first person who has mentioned platina. It ap- pears, however, from the manner in which he has spoken of it, that he never saw the metal, since he describes it as “ a stone of such resistance, that it is not easily broken by a blow upon an anvil. It is not subdued by calcination ; and it is very difficult to extract the metal it contains, even with much labour and expense.” As platina is capable of receiving a very high polish, not so subject to tarnish as mixed metals, nor, like glass, to give a double image, the French government have consigned a quantity to the mem- bers of the Institute, for the purpose of construct- ing a telescope of such a magnitude and excel- lence, as (they hope) shall exceed the best of Dr. Herschel’s. One of the properties which renders this metal of great utility to practical mathematicians, is the 490 PLATINA. power with which it resists the variations of the at- mosphere : most other metals sensibly contract in cold weather and dilate when it is warm ; but pla- tina is so little changed by different temperatures, that it has lately been made into rules, and applied by the geometricians De lamb re and Mechain, when they measured a degree of the meridian in France. It is also of the first importance to philosophical chemists, when made into crucibles, &c., on account of its great infusibility. It appears from the account which Leblond has published in the Journal de Physique for November 1/85, that platina is found only at Novita and Citara, in the province of Choco in South America. This province is situated in a deep and extensive valley, inclosed by the Andes ; from which circum- stance Leblond supposed that gold and platina were originally formed within these mountains, and that these metals, which are at present found in the val- ley, have been washed down from them in some of their decayed earth. “ It is rare in Choco,” says this naturalist, “ to meet with sandy earth without some particles of gold amongst it ; but it is only in the two districts of Citara and Novita that we find it al- ways mixed with platina.” Platina is always found in the form of very small particles, from the size of the smallest sand to that of a common pea ; the particles are detached from the earth with which they are mixed, with great care, being spread on a polished plate, and sepa- rated, grain by grain, with the blade of a knife. PLATINA. 491 As the platina is generally more or less mixed with gold, they form this last metal into an amalgam, by uniting it with quicksilver, which is afterwards separated from the gold by heat. This operation occasions those little globules of mercury to appear which are sometimes found with platina. SILVER. GENERIC CHARACTER. Colour pure white. Soluble in the three mineral acids; most in the nitrous acid, least in the marine. Less malleable and ductile than gold. Melts at 28 degrees of Wedgwood’s pyrometer. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Argentum nativum. A. malleabile ductile intus metallice ni- tens, aqua forti totum solvendum. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 356 Malleable, ductile, and of a metallic lustre within; entirely soluble in aqua- fortis. Argentum nativum. Waller, Miner. 307. Sy-'.t. Miner. 2. p. 328. no. I. Argentum nudum malleabile. Carth. Miner. 75. Native Silver. . . Cronst. Miner. 2. p. 540. Kincan, Miner.'!, p. 108. Patrin, Hist. Nat. des Miner. 5. p. 128. Brogniart, Miner. 2. p. 248.. Native silver is generally found in irregular shapes; sometimes in masses of 110 determinate form, some- SILVER. 4. witn sU^iig .‘ id into a biac ftwr ‘ { / Fic f . A. it »c r ;; . ■ ■ » yrmr-: » Ba - • ' TPo. on ;; * ,C. '(.:»• :. (Jviel. 3, i>. i - - i>' ’fk -:U; •», ; ,fV V . * i.»-Ctia • >a : i- i] : • • r - rr . ' >r \ _ * * . '• t * ; ' ,p - o o fc "• ■ < . \i V ■ i i ;■ 1 : ’ .t*. i. i?n< f ). >5, ’ vo i, iif io % 'mm ■ ■- ’p • r • .. .. , .. •) - • > k' . a itj > . ... •• ; ■ '• ' • *v ' • . .•* ~ ^ ... *r ■ * £ - +ir.. " ' - -■ * - • .* - s $ * ■ *• ' • • - - L • • >«* » •’ •- 2*» HU • : : ■ vV. ' . ' : ; 1 j-$m: ■*, * ■ -»• • <- t- • - •* • » ' • 1 • • -* V ■: . . K..i. ■■.■•tit BASALTES. GENERIC CHARACTER. Colour a dark iron gray. Composed of flint, clay, lime, and iron, in different pro- portions. Melts with a strong heat into a blackish glass. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Basaltes columnakis. B. obscums compactus duriusculus te- nax in fragmenta prismatica granulata sponte secedens. Lynn. Syst. Nat , Gw el. 3. p. 151. Dark basaltes, compact, harsh, and tough ; separating spontaneously into granulated prismatic fragments. Basaltes figura columnar!, 3ateribus in- ordinate. Waller. Syst. Miner. 1. p. 319. no. 9. Smectis crystallisatus, crystallis oblongis irregularibus. Carth. Miner. 21. Basaltes. .... Crotist. Miner. 2. p.913. note. Kirwan , Miner. 1. p. 431. Patrin, Hist, des Miner. 5. p. 270. Brongn. Miner.!. p. 455. This very singular production is found in several parts of Europe, but no where in such abundance voi . III. 2 o o6‘2 BASALTES. as in Scotland and Ireland. The stone is generally of a blackish-gray colour, difficult to break, and sounding under the hammer like brass. It is of a prismatic shape, and generally hexangular, but by no means constant in this respect, as basaltic pillars are found with three, four, five, six, and seven sides. Immense numbers of these pillars are sometimes collected together and joined side by side, either in a vertical or an inclined direction. They vary considerably both in size and height, being found from a few inches to three or four feet in diameter, and from five to fifty or sixty feet high. Sir J. Banks remarked, when he visited the island of StafFa, that the surfaces of the large pillars were in general rough, uneven, and full of cracks in all directions, some of which were filled with a yellow spar. He likewise noticed that the surfaces of the larger number were concave, though some were evi- dently convex. When a large mass of basaltes is found to ex- tend to a considerable distance with a tolerably uni- form surface, it is called a causeway. In France there are several basaltic causeways, particularly in Auvergne, in Velay, and Vivarais ; but none of these are to compare with the Giant's Causeway on the northern coast of Ireland. This wonderful as- semblage of basaltic columns has been frequently described by travellers ; but the most recent account is that by M. Pictet, who was in Ireland in the year 1801. This gentleman describes it as a sort of promontory, or rather pier, gradually descending * ,/ ' ■ M ’ ■» ' •- “ 4 ** ■ -* • ■' 1 « 11 : . ■ : ■< t . ■ 1 ». . 1 * ;L . U -■ . ' ‘ p *3 tv - lift >*. V «‘ ■9 %$*; ■ * V1- ’ «* * * -• V ■ • V * * \ ‘ * i • « • C ‘ . . : *: ; ■ , ■ T-T Uiitfl * • " v . i - ■ £•. •»-,.••: \fV- . ,• . . . .4^ t* v|V' !•?*»>' ' v . ’>*Xr , . : i ' ;,r :f= ■ - . . J- , - V * - r ■ ' ■ <■■ ’ V i $**- - - ri ‘ ' V Jfe* . ■' v* f - *.<* * . ■ . • • ■* . ■ %■ : ; y ; ' 'a* • ^ 'ii ... VV V; ' M C -«c • ■ ' -V-1 •- * • • * *7 - ^ - >►' ■*. • , 'V* •£ , •• ■ > }> ; V • : ■*. *? » • " ! , : - '::r • •• "*»•* „ , ■. v «.(b . - *,v* . --x- . . .. 4, 1 - f ■t; ' ■ . 'if- " - " .1- ■ in : • • -i ••'K- 1 •• ' • i r f I , « ( » c‘> a U; S Kit : : ; i . i: r ay cbir..t 1 it: ■ i'i ' ' •>!*■ •re ’oun i .vt 1 i '.lit I)1 l‘j six : jo s, i.' • us 1.. ’>« ■ ■ .V e r ; • .ec • . .^4. ' 5 l \ V * ’ * : • t- ! !i- • > ■>’ ■ • • \ ‘ : A> •V 1* ft j,k;? rcu'iaJ uea, viu.e a=. • i . ■ • ■« e., . ■ ■ ie\ * : ■ SOnjO.ot •' )' l L'.’r h x\ t VI 111 o ) el> ... ■ otteei ) ■ ‘ . ■ v„ "• ^ ; J den vr et-kv.e: 0 ;• • > ■ • ' ’ ; * L t » » > # • C '-J* no ijrlSftlb- :• - i ■ ioTemV n- Lisews . e = fi; < . • n .a tv: } •' -Gm Iv'ii- jrgjie, in V flay, and but iion€ .... .11 -re ivd th • G ■>: t’s Cau‘ •, -ui> ol ' !» i z1 b rav l • ‘ : ;i: : ; t \\ |>; • •: v!;’: > > k ’ - -r . Ul ttlO - ■ . * : k ‘ 1 C 5 - • i(i . % .*- S.-t IV - ,ffTZ UttpuoT s'.n. >//(/ y ffJfny Aq TWWtf !?~>f)SP(Z J± Aq pjufas'jfj BASALTES. 563 towards the sea, and terminating in a point, over which the breakers dash with violence. This pier composes the western horn of a bay in the form of a crescent, surrounded by high and rugged ground, which exhibits some fine basaltic phaenomena. On all sides are to be seen groups of columns, to which the guides have given different names, according to their supposed resemblance to some familiar ob- ject ; thus they call one mass of columns at the bottom of the bay the organ, another the weaver’s loom, &c. The mass of columns which run into the sea and form the causeway itself, are nearly on a level with the beach, and, being composed of vertical pil- lars with horizontal surfaces, exhibit at a distance the appearance of a stone pavement. But on ap- proaching the shore, we perceive that the sections of the columns are so far from being upon the same level, that in traversing the causeway we are con- tinually obliged to go up and down. All the prisms which compose this natural pier are almost in per- fect contact with each other, without any interme- diate substance between them ; in which respect they differ from the basaltes at Dunbar, where the intervals between the columns are said to be filled with a coarse kind of jasper. T1 ie columns of this famous causeway are nearly of the same size ; and their mean diameter, says M. V ictet, is from twelve to fifteen inches. They differ in the number of their sides, some having four, and some eight ; but those with six sides are 2 o 2 564 BASALTES. by far the most numerous. It lias been noticed by every one who has examined basaltic columns, that they are for the most part formed of a number of pieces, nearly equal in size, which rest one upon the other, and which are immediately detected by the line of separation. On removing any of these pieces from the main column, they are almost al- ways found with one face convex and the other con- cave. The basaltes of which the causeway is composed is of a blackish colour, and hard enough to strike fire, imperfectly, with steel. It is of a close texture, and disturbs the magnetic needle. When any cavities are perceived in the basaltic pillars, it is more generally towards the top than elsewhere. Indeed it has been said, that the upper joint of each pillar, where it can be ascertained with any certainty, is always rudely formed and cellular. The gross pillars also in the capes and mountains frequently abound in holes through all their parts, which sometimes contain fine clay, and other apparently foreign bodies; and the irregular basaltes, beginning where the pillars cease, or lying over them, is in general extremely honey-combed, containing in its cells crystals of zeolite, little moi- sels of fine brown clay, sometimes very pure steatite, and in a few instances bits of agate. From the iron ore found intermixed with the basaltes, and the vast beds of red ochre which sepa- rate the ranges of columns at different heights, M. Pictet very reasonably supposes that iron in the BASALTES. 5 65 state of an oxide must abound in those regions. To the eastward of the bay there are said to he beds of this ochre, of prismatic basaltes in regular colonnades, and of other basaltes which are jumbled together in a very confused manner, and mixed with earth. These alternate beds of basaltes and ochre are several times repeated, but the ochre par- ticularly occupies the lower part of this enormous heap, of which the height lias been estimated at about three hundred and fifty feet. “ The time stole on.” savs M. Pictet, u and our benevolent and active conductor had still other things to show us, more to the eastward ; but as it is bad travelling on the beach, especially when the sea is rough, we returned along the same path by which we had descended, and for two miles fol- lowed all the windings of this steep coast; from time to time cautiously approaching the edge of the declivity, to enjoy the prospect of the inac- cessible bay below, where the sea may be seen rolling in and breaking furiously upon the black rocks which collect upon their banks. These bays are entirely covered by columnar basaltes arranged in floors, piled upon each other, till they almost reached us. “ Continuing to follow this remarkable coast, we arrived at the end of a promontory, whose greatest height is towards the sea, where it resembles the point of a gigantic bastion, rising almost vertically to the height of three hundred and twenty-two feet above the shore : it is called pies kin. Here I want 5 66 BASALTES. expressions to paint to you the scene, at once sub- lime and terrific, which presented itself to us as soon as we dared to look at it. The Giant’s Cause- way, which but lately had engaged our attention, was no more than a child’s plaything, a mere minia- ture, compared with the abyss which our eyes now contemplated with an almost insatiable curiosity. J his advanced post permitted us to enjoy the whole of that at once which till then we could only catch by fragments. Here a person may study, at his ease, the magic superposition of these immense colon- nades ; admire the regularity of their shafts, from thirty to forty feet, of which many are composed ; and attempt to fathom the causes which in some period of this globe’s existence have contributed to produce such wonderful effects.” The finest specimen, however, of columnar ba- saltes is the island of Staffa, in the Hebrides, which had scarcely been noticed till Sir Joseph Banks paid it a visit in a journey to the North of Scotland. Mr. Pennant, in his Voyage to the Hebrides, in the year Iff2? mentions it as a new Giant’s Causeway rising amidst the waves, but with columns of double the height of that in Ireland, “ glossy and re- splendent from the beams of the eastern sun.” What little this gentleman saw of the island, he caught while pursuing his voyage, and observes that the greatest height of the columns was at the southern point of the isle, of which they seemed the support ; and that they decreased in height in proportion as the vessel advanced along that face of BASALTES. 56/ Staffa which wras then opposed to them, or the east- ern side. The island of Staffa lies on the west coast of Mull, and is about a mile long and half a mile broad. We learn from the description which Sir Joseph Banks has given of this island, that there is a small bay on the west side, where boats gene- rally land ; a little to the southward of which the first appearance of pillars is to be observed. These are small, and, instead of being placed upright, lie down on their sides, each forming a segment of a circle. Above a small cave in the neighbour- hood of these pillars, others are found, of larger dimensions and inclined in all directions, particu- larly a small mass, which very much resembles the ribs of a ship. “ From hence,” says Sir Joseph, “ having passed the cave, which, if it is not low water, you must do in a boat, you come to the first ranges of pillars, which are still not above half as large as those a little beyond. Over against this place is a small island, called in Erse, Boo-sha-la , separated from the main by a channel not many fa- thoms wide : this w hole island is composed of pil- lars without any stratum above them ; they are still small, but by much the neatest formed of any about the place.” The sea at high water separates this island into two parts, one of which makes a sort of cone, the pillars converging towards the centre; while on the other, the basaltes in general lie down fiat, and in the front towards the sea are beautifully packed 56*8 BASALTES. together, their ends coming out square so as to form a bank. The main island opposite to Boo-sha-la, and more to the north-west, is supported by ranges of pillars tolerably erect and of large diameters. At their feet is an irregular pavement, made by the upper sides of such as have been broken off, which extends as far under water as the eye can reach. After proceeding along shore to the north-west, and passing Fingal’s Cave, which we shall presently describe, Sir Joseph met with the highest ranges of pillars, which, he tells us, are magnificent beyond all description : they are bare to their very bases, and the stratum below them is also visible, which has very much the appearance of a lava. Beyond this place, round the north end of the island, is situated the Corvor ant's Cave , where the pillars, though con- siderably less than the last-mentioned, are still of a large size. After these a few others occur, but of no consideration : at length, as you proceed, they totally cease, nor do you meet with any signs of re- gular basaltic formation again till you have nearly completed the tour of the island, and have once more arrived at the bending pillars. The greatest curiosity in StafFa, is, unques- tionably, the Cave of Fingal , which Sir Joseph Banks has described as follows : “ We proceeded along the shore, treading upon another Giant’s Causeway, every stone being formed into a certain number of sides and angles, tdl in a short time we arrived at the mouth of a cave, the most magnifi- cent, I suppose, that has ever been described by .Published by Me/s " CadeH Sc Davies londan March j. tSo 7 . ‘A! ; / £* . I * })<>( : •,? •1 : V- ' .4 ■ • • • • • , - • • < ‘ » .i - » ' ... * ; • • .» **• xi - ! ‘nor* - . - td x. - O • ■ - V. , ■ ,'r: ■ . pii.ii) iy i •.-on. *' i •« U ti: • ■ s v\tnti . fr fv* . \ - , ...» •• '*• rj •/ ■ " • ' .? .r-t. f: . . it 4 . . *’ ! ;i; ' ' ■ ' • • ' ' • ■ • . • . A'- •• cr i. :: -r "i« ;«{ -,nv- A: Ik* - hi K 1 I' ; h * ' ’• At -iM; •» ; ’ • : M * ‘ I I • rte ra- ,• :* • * • * k * 1 M. i.-bj-E. IV; ;\* i‘* In. ; > tH.ilt .* 7 1 6 0 J * / VI 20 C • 7 (i -j in lifs irscr c-. ; . j . • •> sif t ! • •«* ' . « ' . • * _ . 1 * $ x 4 * BASALTES. 569 travellers. The mind can hardly form an idea more magnificent than such a space, supported on each side by ranges of columns, and roofed by the bottoms of those which have been broken off* in order to form it ; between the angles of which a yellow stalagmitic matter has exuded, which serves to define the angles precisely, and at the same time vary the colour with a great deal of elegance : and to render it still more agreeable, the whole is lighted from without; so that the furthest extremity is very plainly seen from without; and the air within, being agitated by the flux and reflux of the tides, is per- fectly dry and wholesome, free entirely from the damp vapours with which natural caverns in general abound. Ft. In. “ Length of the cave from the rock without 37 1 6 From the pitch of the arch . 250 0 Breadth of ditto at the mouth 53 7 At the further end 20 0 Height of the arch at the mouth . 117 6 At the end .... . 7 0 0 Height of an outside pillar • 39 6 Of one at the N. W. corner 54 0 Depth of water at the mouth 18 0 At the bottom .... 9 0 The cave runs into the rock in the direction of N.E.-by-E. by the compass.” Faujas, in his description of this astonishing na- tural curiosity, says, that the sea is in a constant BASALTES. 570 state of agitation within it, and breaks with fury against the sides and bottom of the cavern. This, however, can happen only when the wind is in the right direction, as there may be often a heavy sea near the mouth, and a comparative calm at the end of the cave. Faujas acknowledges, in another place, that when M. Troil visited this cavern, the sea, “ par un de ces cas extraordinaires qui ri arrivent pas tous les dix ans” was so calm that it permitted him to enter in a boat. This gentleman observed, that along the bottom of the cave, just below the surface of the water, there is a kind of recess, from whence a very agreeable sound proceeds whenever it absorbs the wave. Thus far we have confined ourselves to the basaltic pheenomena of the British islands ; but it is time to notice some of the most curious that occur in other parts of Europe; none of which, however, can com- pare in point of magnificence with those we have just described. The principal among them are the rocks of the Cyclops in the neighbourhood of Etna, which exhibit some very fine basaltic pillars. These rocks are described and figured by Houel in his Voyage Pittoresque , &c. He notices one of the roCks in particular, as producing the straightest and most regular columns of any ; and says that at first sight they resemble the majority of those which are met with in France and the British islands, by the regular appearance of their prismatic, columns ; but on a nearer inspection, we find a remarkable differ- ence; these being assembled in groups of five or BASALTES. 571 six about one, which serves as their common cen- tre. One half of this rock is composed of per- pendicular columns ; the other of another species of basaltes, disposed in inclined, and almost recti- linear, layers. These are in contact with the co- lumns, and are as closely connected with them as they are w7ith each other: it must likewise be re- marked, that the layers are longer at the base than towards the top of the rock, and that they subdivide in general as they rise upwards ; so that towards the upper extremities a layer will often exhibit one, two, and sometimes three divisions. These layers, though inclined towards the base, become almost perpendicular near the top of the rock, where they seem united in a point, and over-top most of the visible and elevated parts of the prismatic co- lumns. The columns terminate in such a manner as to form a kind of staircase. The extraneous matter with which these columns are covered, and of which the summit of this pyramid consists, ap- pears to be of the same species with that which composes the upper part of the island. The ba- saltes in this place are noticed to be full of small crystals of about the size of peas, which appear as beautiful as rock crystal, hut are much softer, and yield to the action of the air. Many fragments of the decayed pillars which formerly contained crystals, are now so full of holes as to resemble a sponge. Basalt is occasionally found in a flat or round 572 BASALTES. form, as well as in that of a column. Brongniart informs us, that there is a chain of mountains which separate Bohemia from the electorate of Saxony, called the metallic chain, oil account of the vast quantity of metal which it contains within its bowels. Basaltes are found on the most elevated points of these mountains, either of a conical or flat shape; and these basaltic summits are almost always insulated. The highest point of this chain is said to be twelve hundred yards above the level of the sea. Mount Meisner, in Hesse, is crowned with a ba- saltic platform of one hundred yards in thickness. The body of the mountain is composed of chalk and red sandstone ; above the sandstone there is a bed of bituminous matter, divided in places into little prismatic bars. It is on this bed, and on the bituminous argil which covers it, that the basaltic platform rests which composes the summit of the mountain. The banks of the Rhine, between Bonn and Andernach, and particularly the environs of Unkel, exhibit masses of very fine basaltic prisms, which are of a very compact texture, and enclose large pieces of chrysolite. Basaltic prisms occur at the foot of Vesuvius in Italy, and of Etna in Sicily ; with this difference, however, that they are rare about the first mountain, and abundant round the last, where they form a rock, says Brongniart, sur- rounding the volcanic mountain, which appears to rise from the middle of their mass. This disposition BASALTES. 5/3 of basaltes is said to be equally apparent in the Appennines, and in several of the islands ot the Ar- chipelago. Among the fine specimens of basaltic columns, those of Auvergne in France, and a part of those of the Cevennes, ought not to be omitted, as they ex- hibit specimens almost equal to what we find upon the Irish coast. This substance is likewise found in the island of Teneriffe, in that of Goree, in the isle of Bourbon, and in other volcanic isles of the Indian and South seas. Besides those we have mentioned, it is found in many other places, but not in sufficient quantity to deserve our notice. It may be proper to observe, however, that the an- tique basalt, or that of which the Egyptians made their statues, was brought from the mountains of Ethiopia. The presence of basaltes in most of the countries where volcanos are found, their black colour, the round cavities which they occasionally present, and the different mineral substances which sometimes insinuate themselves, tend to prove that these stones owe their origin to volcanic fire. But, on the con- trary, the striking analogy which exists between certain basaltes and those stones that are evidently of aquatic origin ; an analogy founded on their che- mical analysis, and strengthened by other circum- stances, makes the former hypothesis somewhat doubtful, and has induced many mineralogists to affirm that all basaltes were originally formed by 5/4 BASALTES. water, or at least in the same liquid as porphyry, &c. Each of these opinions has been supported by its respective advocates, who have discussed the sub- ject at some length. As this point, however, still remains unsettled, we shall not enter into the par- ticulars on either side, but conclude our account by noticing some of the uses to which basalt has been applied. In some towns they use the basaltes to pave their streets ; but it is observed, that unless they are fre- quently watered, the stones are apt to break. In Saxony they use this stone to arm the end of their stamping machines with which they pulverize the quartz. As it melts in a strong fire into a black glass, it has sometimes been used to make bottles, and the earth which results from the decomposition of basaltes is said to be very fertile. The antients, and particularly the Egyptians, employed basaltes in the formation of their monu- ments and their statues, notwithstanding the diffi- culty which they must have encountered in shaping so hard a stone. Pliny cites, as a remarkable ex- ample, the statue of Nilus with sixteen children playing about it, denoting as many cubits of the rise of the river ; and also mentions the statue of Memnon, in the temple of Serapis at Thebes (which uttered a melodious sound every day at sun-rise) as being of the same substance. INDEX. Agate subject to almost endless, variety — where found, vol. iii. p. 414. Enhydres, what 415. Arborescent agates described, 416. Mocha stones, what — animal and vegetable substances converted into agate, 417- Mills employed to polish agates in Germany, 418. Chalcedony , from whence it derives its name — account of, 41 9. Cornelian, where found — Sardo- nyx hardly separated from the carnelian — highly valued by the antients, 421. Onyx the hardest of the flinty tribe — used for cameos, 422. Artists celebrated for this mode of engraving, 422, 423. Alabaster. See Stalactites. Aloe (American) its glorious appearance— opinion that it blows but once in a century unfounded, iii. 102. leaves described — aloe described by the Abbe La Pluche, 103. Medicinal aloe, account of — cultivation and mode of collecting the juice, 105 — 108. Mahometans respect the aloe — leaves of great use to the natives of Senegal, 109. and to the poor in Mexico, no. Amber varies in colour and degrees of transparency, iii. 4 76. is electric — where found, 477* particular specimens noticed — origin of amber involved in obscurity, 478. antient mytholo- gists account for its formation without any difficulty, 479. Ants fond of society — their city described — their persevering in- dustry exemplified, ii. 441. are good anatomists, 443. Dr. Franklin’s experiments to prove that ants communicate their thoughts to each other, 444. remain during winter in a lethar- INDEX. 5/6' gic state— eggs and maggots— great attachment of the ants to their young, 445. males, females, and neuters distinguished from each other, 446. Sugar ant , its ravages described — means em- ployed to stop their progress, 447. Three different species of ants found in New South Wales described — ants of South Ame- rica, 448 — 450. their habitations, 451. Ant Lion. See Lion Ant. Arbor Dianae. See Mercury. Arborescent Agates. See Agate. Argillaceous Iron-stone. See Iron. Ass, i. 6. manner in which this animal descends the danger- ous precipices of the Andes, 7- was originally imported into America by the Spaniards — manner in which they catch wild asses in the kingdom of Quito, 8. are remarkably fierce when first taken — will not suffer a horse in their company — stand in the streets of Cairo to be hired, 9. is very much misused — is temperate in his food, and particularly nice in the choice of his water, 10. Wild ass described — the Arabians fond of the flesh, which was also eaten by the Romans, 1 1 . Asphaltum. See Bitumen. Aurum Fulminans. See Gold. B. Baboon. See Monkey. Bactrian Camel. See Camel. Bamboo, only two species known at present, iii. 111. rises to a great height, 112. its wood of great use to the Malays and Macassars, 113. Chinese make a kind of paper, &c. from it — spiny bamboo answers the purpose of ramparts, 114. use of the Bamboo Tuy to the natives of the Moluccas, 115. process used by the Chinese to manufacture paper from the bamboo, 116, 117. Banana tree cultivated for the sake of its fruit, iii. 277. de- scription, and how distinguished from the plantain, 278. Indians make a paste of the fruit, 279. which is eaten in different ways, 280. leaves of great service to the inhabitants of the Indies, 281. The Ensete, an Abyssinian plant, account of, 282—285. INDEX, 577 Banian. See Fig-tree. Baobab tree one of the largest productions of the vegetable king- dom— where found, iii. 166. easily injured — its prodigious size, 167. use of the leaves and fruit — singular use which the na- tives make of the trunks, 168, 169. Barnacle frequently seen adhering to oysters, See. ii. 548. descrip- tion, 549. Goose barnacle, 55 0. Basaltes described — Giant's causeway, a wonderful basaltic pro- duction, account of, iii. 562 — 565. Island of Slajfa described, 566 and 56y. Cave of Fingal a most singular cavern, accoun: of — rocks of the Cyclops, 568 — 570. different situations in which basaltes occur — its origin disputed, 372, 373. employed by the Egyptians in the formation of their monuments and sta- tues, 574. Bat, i. 342. description and habits, 343, 344. experiments of Spal- lanzani, 345, and of Mr. Carlisle, 346. Vampire bat of South America a dangerous animal, 347. account of by Captain Sted- man, 348. Bear, brown, the most common of all the varieties, i. 234. de- scription and habits, 235. grows excessively flit in the winter — comes from his hiding-place in the spring — conceals her young, 236. the cubs described — ascend trees with great agiiity — are fond of honey — singular custom among the American savages respecting the bear, 237. hunting the bear described, 238. su- perstitious ceremonies observed in the chase, 239 — 24 1 . the flesh a great delicacy — use of skin, shoulder-blades, and in- testines, 242. Polar bear is not calculated to live iu temperate climates — is frequently carried out to sea on floating ice— Ice- landers will attack him with a spear — is very bold and fero- cious, 243. his attempt to board a ship in the whale-fishery — Bercntz’s seamen killed by the white bears, 244. sometimes visits a Greenlander in his canoe without doing any mischief — pass the winter in the snow, 245. very troublesome in Green- land—when dead of great use to the Greenlander, 240'. notice of a white bear kept in the Tower, 247. Bearded Eagle, i. 389. Beaver, description of and where found — castor, what — hair ma- 2 p VOL. Ill, 5/8 INDEX. nufactured into hats, i. 274 and 275. the tools with which they work, 2/6. Iheir sagacity in fixing their abode— their cause- way described, 277 and 278. their houses, how built, 2/g. de- scribed by Captain Cartwright, 280. their winter provisions, 281. and the manner of stowing it, 282. their affection for their young and each other - -manner of catching them, 283. Terrier heavers , what— beaver will live entirely upon land, 284. description of those in Exeter Change, 285 and 28d. Bees dwell very peaceably together while they have room — when the young bees leave the hive — swarming an act of necessity, ii. 405. strange noise heard in the hive before they depart — what becomes of the young colony — more than one queen in a hive creates quarrels, 40d. labours of the bees in building a habitation, 407. formation of the comb described — royal cells — manner in which the queen bee lays her eggs, 410. care of the maggots fall to the share of the labourers - passage through the chrysalis state, 411. bee-bread, what, 412. the Geconomy of bees really wonderful, 413. their manner of col- lecting honey, 414. its flavour depends on the country w here it is produced, 415. bees quiet in cold weather- queen seldom appears in public — is followed by a numerous train when she goes abroad, 4 id. particular description of the queen bee— a swarm has but one queen, 417 — 4 '9- males, account of — ex- pelled from the hive in the autumn, 420. labourers, their great use in a hive, 422. trunk of the bee described, 423. breast, 424. belly— sting — bees removed from place to place in search of better pasturage, 425 — 42Q. inhabitants of the Low-’er Egypt imbark their bees on the Nile, 430 method used to discover bees in America, 431. Carpenter bee, its singular manners, 431. account of a bee nearly allied to the carpenter, 435. anecdote re- specting it by M. Reaumur, 43d. Mason bee, its curious habi- tation, 438. its enemies, 43p. Beetle, Exploding. See Exploding Beetle. Beetle, Phosphoric. See Phosphoric Beetle. Beetle, Stag. See Stag Beetle. Be ‘tie. Grave-digging See Grave-digging Beetle. Beetle, Hercules. See Hercules Beetle. INDEX. 5/9 Beetle, Timber. See Timber Beetle. Beetle, Diamond. See Nut Weevel. Beetle, Oil. See Oil Beetle. Bernacle goose, singular account of, i. 542 — 544. Betel tree, its nut chewed by the inhabitants of the East — de- scribed betel nut not chewed alone — mode of preparing, iii. 247. very pernicious to the teeth, 248. Areca oleracea, its description and use, 248 and 24g. Birds, flight very astonishing, i. 151. materials and structure of their nests, 353. wonderful instinctive qualities of birds respect- ing their nests, 354. African birds’ nests described, 355 — 357. attention of the female to her eggs, 358. description of the egg, 35t). manner ot rearing the young, 3 63. and great anxiety of the mother for their welfare, 364.' form of a bird, 365— 368. man- ner of catching birds in the Orkneys, 368— 3 70. Bird-catching Spider. See Spider. Bitumen, iii. 452. Naphtha, a species of bitumen perfectly fluid and diaphanous — where found, 453. Petroleum described, 454. dirferent places where it occurs, 454 and 455. Maltha de- scribed—where found— 456. Asphaltum described— Lake of Judea, why called the Dead Sea — account of a lake of asphal- tum in the island of Trinidad, 457. used by the Egyptians in embalming — Elastic bitumen, account of, 458. Black lead an inflammable substance, iii. 47 1. where found mine in Borrowdale, account of, 4/2. uses of black lead, 474. Black Swan. See Wild Swan. Blue Oxide of Copper. See Copper. Boa, gieat, desciibed, ii. 81. known to the Romans, 82. account of one shot by Captain Stedman— manner of seizing a large animal-* unfoitunate fate of a man attacked by this serpent 83 — 87. are torpid after swallowing their prey — venerated by the antient Mexicans, 83. Bohun Upas. See Poison Tree. Bread-huit tree, description of its fruit — serves the natives of Ofa- heitee as a substitute for bread, iii. 200. tree described, and man- ner of dressing the fruit, 201, 202. 2 v 2 580 INDEX. Buffalo — at least twice the size of a common ox — his figure de- scribed, i. 19. the use to which his hide is applied — singular circumstance respecting his teeth — mutual antipathy between the buffalo and the ox, 20. is exceedingly furious when wounded — his revenge — has a singular aversion to red cloth, 21. a herd attacked by Dr. Thunberg and his companions, 22. the narrow escape of Dr. Thunberg from a wild buffalo, 23. a buflalo shot by Dr. Sparrman, 24. manner in which buffaloes are hunted in Caffraria — Bruce’s account of a buffalo-hunt in Abyssinia, 2 6. Bull Frog. See Frog. Butterfly, Priam, the most beautiful of the genus — described, ii. 345. where found, 346. different parts of butterflies de- scribed, 346—348. Butter tree described — Park’s account of this singular vegetable, iii. 315. C. Camel the only animal capable of carrying merchandise across the desert — is content with the coarsest food, i. 70. is provided by Nature with large reservoirs to contain water exemplified by Mr. Bruce, 7 1. length of time a camel will live without water, 72. manner in which the Arabians train their camels carry an immense weight, 73- are seldom depressed except for want of water, which they will scent out at a great distance camel described, 74. is a pleasant animal to travel upon, J5. his uses enumerated — camels used in war at an early period me- thod of placing the soldiers upon them, 75 and 76. Bactrian or two-bunched camel noticed, 77 • 'Camel-cricket described— ridiculous property ascribed to it— very quarrelsome— their conflicts, ii. 304. trained in China like gamecocks— neglect their food to prey on each other, 305. Dry leaf mantis, a most singular species of this genus, 306. where found, 307. Camphor tree, iii. 128. See Laurel. Camrunga possesses the singular faculty of moving when touched. INDEX. 581 iii. 138. particular account of its phenomena — flowers and fruit described, 139 — 142. Caoutchouc. See Syringe Tree. Caprification. See Fig Tree. Carbuncle. See Garnet. Carnelian. See Agate. Carp, remarkably tenacious of life, ii. 200. description, 201. when brought into England — remarkable longevity, instances of, 202. particulars relative to the breeding of carp, 203 — 207 . grow to a large mze, 207, 208. Carp (golden,) when first brought to England — where found, ii. 209. manner of keeping — taught by the Chinese to rise to the sound of a bell — how to distinguish the males from the females, 210. subject to many variations — a singular way of exhibiting gold-fish, 211. Cachew-nut, where found — description — its oil esteemed an ad- mirable cosmetic by the young ladies in the West Indies, iii. 133. how applied — fruit of use to the negroes of Brasil, 134. Cat, of some consequence in former times — her price and the qualities required of her, i. 228. not aborigines of these islands —hospital for cats at Damascus, 229. peculiar structure of their eyes, 230. their' strong attachment to their kittens exemplified, 230, 231. anecdote of a cat, 232. Wild cats very fierce— their size, 233. Cedar-tree, very hardy, iii. 231. progress of its growth, 233. notice of some of the most remarkable cedars produced in England, 232. those of Mount Lebanon preserved with religious strict- ness— uses of cedar, 234. account ot those remaining on Mount Lebanon, 235. True cedar not of a lasting nature, 236. Centipede one of the venomous creatures that infest the warmer parts of the globe, ii. 532. description and manners, 533. Cerastes, how distinguished from other snakes, i.96. description — endures a much longer fast than other animals, 97. account of, by Mr. Bruce, 98 — 101. Chalcedony. See Agate. 582 1NBI X. Chameleon supposed to live on air, a vulgar error— its singular property of changing colour, ii. 56. account of, 5j. to what supposed to be owing, 59. possesses the power of inflating its body, 60. singular conformation of the eye and tongue, 6 1 . form of the feet — different opinions concerning its motions, 62. Chamois described, i. 37. See Wild Goat. Cicada produces the cuckoo spit, ii. 324. manner in which this froth is formed— passage from the chrysalis to the fly state, 325. The Cicada plebija, a species of this genus celebrated by the poets — its voice harsh and disagreeable — how its note is pro- duced, 325. Anacreon’s verses celebrating the cicada, 32/. Cinnamon tree, iii. 120. See Laurel. Climbing Spar us described, ii. 167. Coal the most serviceable of all the inflammable substances, iii. 460. situation in which it is found — coal-mines in France generally surrounded by primitive rocks, 46l. substances which separate the beds of coal from each other, 462. principal mines, 463. particular account of the coal-mines near White- haven, 464— 467. those in France noticed— coal-mine in the neighbourhood of Liege described, 468. origin of coal con- sidered, 469. Cobra de Capello, why so called — its poison extremely fatal, ii. 103. Indian jugglers contrive to tame it, and how, 104, 105. instance of superstitious veneration for the cobra de capello, 107. Cochineal long of doubtful origin, ii. 338. described— where found and how cultivated, 339. process of converting them into a co- louring drag — Shell lac, what, 340. account of, 341. Kerin es, account of, 342,343. Cockatoo. See Parrot. Cockchafer deposits her eggs with great regularity, ii. 252. grubs very destructive, 253. passage from the grub to the beetle state, 254. the bane of gardeners, 255. instance of their destructive power, 255 — 257- infinite number on the south-west coast of Galway, account of- — and elsewhere, 257, 258. roo^s destroy vast numbers of grubs, 2 5Q. INDEX. 583 Cockroach (great), where found, ii.300. its depredations, account of, 301 . common black beetle of this genus, 302. Cocoa-nut tree, where found, iii. 209. described, 210. Toddy, what, and how procured, 211. various uses of the cocoa tree, 212. Cod, principal fisheries for, ii. 147- manner in which the fish are caught and cured — train oil made from the livers -air bladder or sound, 1-18 — 151. method of making isinglass from, 152. amazing digestive power of the stomach — their vast fecundity, 153. instance of a large one caught on our coast, 154. Coffee, a tree of great service to mankind — described, iii. 73. his- torical account of, 74 — 78. cultivation, 79. has succeeded in tire temperate parts of Europe, 80. different modes of taking coffee — criterion of good coffee, 81. Condur, supposed to be the roc of the Arabian Nights, i. 1/1 . ex- aggerated accounts of, 372. carries off lambs, 3/3. makes its nest among inaccessible rocks, 374. Copper, native, described, iii. 501. Red copper ore, 502. Blue oxide of copper — Green copper ore, 503. Gray copper ore, 504. Sulphate of copper, 505. principal copper mines, account of, 507. descent into the mine at Fahlun, 509, 510. general pro- perties of copper, 512. remarkably impatient of moisture when melted— its dreadful elfects exemplified, 513. coppers used lor culinary purposes ought always to be carefully tinned, and why, 514. Corallines of our coasts resemble plants in appearance — Sea fir coralline described— its polypes, ii. 606. methods of preserving them in an expanded .state — large forests of corallines on the southern coast of America, O07, 008. great variety of species— Red pipe oral line, where found, 009. masses of coral rock, how composed, GlO. Cork-tree, very sensible of cold, iii. 214. manner in which the cork is procured, 215. Cotton plant, where found —described — its great utility, iii. 172. corolla described, 173. Cultivation of' cotton in Europe, 174. in Asia, 1/7 . in Africa, 179. and in America, 180. Cowry described -account of the manner in which the animal 584 INDEX. forms its shell, ii. 582. sometimes quit their shells and form others, 584, how this is effected, 585. Cow parsnip, iii. 93. Crab (Land) where found — millions repair annually to the sea- side to deposit their eggs— the order preserved in their march — first division consists of the strongest males, ii. 535. main body composed of females— rear-guard a mixed undisciplined crew — chiefly proceed by night — their quarrelsome disposition, 536. spawn — their weakness after spawning, 537. never leave home except to bring forth their young — how taken — are of con- siderable advantage to the poor inhabitants of Jamaica, 538. are sometimes poisonous — Hermit crab , his singular manners, ac- count of, 539. described — crabs possess the power of repro- duction, 540. Pea crab , its supposed friendship for the pinna, 541. Crane very common in Persia — manner of hunting them — numer- ous in Poland and elsewhere, i. 513. description and manners — Hooping crane, what — their remarkable noise, 414, 415, 416. Numidian crane described — why called Demoiselle, 51/. known to the antients, 518. Cricket, Camel. See Camel Cricket. Cricket, Mole, described, ii. 318. nest and eggs — attention of the female to her nursery, 319 a great enemy to gardeners, 320. Crocodile confined to the warmer regions, ii. 42. description, 43. vast shoals in the African rivers — seize their prey like the water- newt, 44. frequent the slimy banks of the great American rivers — able to remain a long while without food, 45. negroes boldly attack him, and how, 46. attack mankind when pressed by hunger, 47. female deposits her eggs in the sand — their small size, 48. great numbers destroyed by animals — crocodile exhibited by the Ptomans, 49. origin of the word alligator, 50. Cuckoo, well known in the age of Aristotle, i. 440. a migratory bird, 441. its singular manners, interesting account of, by Dr. Jenner, 441 — 443. not always successful in expelling an- other bird from its nest, 444. are susceptible of a sort of educa- tion, 445. Cuckoo supposed sometimes to stay with us all the INDEX. 583 year, 445. origin of cuckoo spit, 446. origin of Jupiter cuculus — the African cuckoo, or honey bird, its singular manners, 44 7. D. Date-tree considered by the inhabitants of the East as the most useful production of the vegetable kingdom —described, iii. 261. where found — mode of cultivating, 262. preparation of the dates for food— most parts of the tree useful, 266. marrow of the date, what — leaves, their use— a kind of milk collected from the tree, 267. best dates, where from, 268. Death-watch, the object of superstition, ii. 265. makes a ticking noise, and why — difficult to be found — manner of making its noise, 266. description, 267. manners, 268. Deer, Rein. See Rein Deer. Deer, Virginian. See Virginian Deer. Diamond — an inflammable substance— crystallization, iii. 381. where found, 382. principal diamond mines, account of, 382 — 389. principal diamonds, account of— how cut, 389 391. may be reduced to powder in a steel mortar— their different de- degrees of perfection, 392. Dog, has a certain degree of memory, i. 165. his excellent quali- ties—the services we receive from dogs, 166. life of a water- man saved by his dog — hardly treated by the Kamtschatkans,' &c. 168. Greenlanders use them to draw their sledges — man- ner of travelling in, Greenland, 169. Wild dogs differ materially from wolves, 170. account of an Irish greyhound and a wolf brought up together, 171. anecdotes illustrative of sagacity in different dogs, 172 — 176. Dormouse, striped ; called Suisse by the French, and why, i. 294. their dwellings described— seldom stir abroad in severe weather, 295, 296. killed for the sake of their skins— Com mon dormouse, its habitation and nest, 297. Dragon. See Flying Dragon. Dragon-fly, great, where found, ii, 367. described, 368. its history traced from the egg to the perfect insect, 369, 370. wonderful conformation of the eye, 37 1 . 586 INDEX. E. Eagle, i. 380. where found— description 383. superiority, 3S4. strength, 385. nest, 385, 386. Sea eagle, 387- scarce species mentioned by Du Pratz, 388. Bearded eagle a formidable bird, 389. Bruce’s account of one, 390— 393. eagle taken in New South Wales, account of, 394. Earwig not injurious to mankind, ii. 296. remarkable structure of the wings — female attached to her young, 297. an instance, 298. very destructive to our fruit, 299. Edible Frog. See Frog. Eel, wanders in the meadows in the night — descend to the sea to bring forth their young, ii. 134. power to climb exemplified, 135, 136. method of catching in severe weather, 136. quantity caught, 137- Elastic Bitumen. See Bitumen. Electrical Gymnote, where found, ii. 138. its electric power ex- emplified, 139. Dr. Garden’s experiments to prove its electric property, 140 — 142. Elk, strange opinions of the Indians respecting the, 47. elk and moose-deer the same animal — described, 48. feed on the boughs of trees and water-plants— are hunted in the winter, the chase described, 49. different modes of hunt ing them, 50. flesh of the elk much esteemed — superstitious notion of the Indians — uses to which the skin is applied, 51. when taken young may be easily tamed — anecdote of one, 5 2. Elephant, an animal of superior intellects, i. 103. inhabits Africa and Asia— goes with young nearly two years, 10-4. described, 105, 106. antient manner of taking elephants, 107- manner of catching elephants as practised at present in India, 108 — 128. interesting account of a domestic elephant which escaped, and was afterwards retaken, 129. another account by Mr. Corse, 131. The Abyssinian method of destroying the elephant, 133. instance of the strong affection of a young elephant for its mother, 148. splendid hunting party of the late Nawab, Asuf- ud-Dowlah, 139. death of an elephant, 140. instances of grati- INDEX. 587 tilde in the elephant — remarks respecting his habits, 14J. a small race of elephants used about the court in Northern India — is very careful in passing through a crowd not to injure any cue, 142. his military services in the time of Alexander, first noticed — tusk found at Brentford, 143. Emerald, where found, and ignorance of the Spaniards respecting, iii. 3y8. different situations in the earth where they occur, 3 99. form of their crystals, 400. are distinguished by jewellers into two kinds, 401. Ensete. See Banana. Ephemera described, ii. 372. the larva, 3 73. ephemera always ef- fect their transformation in the evening — interesting account of, 374. Common May-fly a good bait for trout — their transient life — their eggs, 376. Ethiopian Hog, of a remarkable form, i. 78. inhabits the hottest parts of Africa — digs under-ground with great expedition — is the dread of the Hottentots — Dr. Sparrman’s amusing chase of some old sows of this species with their pigs — a boar domesticated in Holland — kills his keeper, 79. Ethiops Mineral. See Mercury. Exploding Beetle, its singular faculty, ii. 291. a means of defence against its enemies— where found, 292. F. Falconry. See Hawk. Fan-leaved Palm described— its great utility, iii. 275. its fruit, 2/6. Fig-tree, a striking instance of that contrivance which Nature oc- casionally employs for the continuation of her species, iii. 303. where cultivated— how raised, 304. of great use to the in- habitants of the countries where they grow, 305. Caprifi cation, a very singular phenomenon, account of— Sycamore fg de- scribed, 306—310. Banian tree one of the most striking of Nature’s productions— described, 311. an object of superstitious veneration among the Hindoos, 312. account of a remarkable tree of this, kind, 343. 588 INDEX. Fir-tree, iii. 218. Scotch jir, where found, 21 9. its timber — pro- duces the largest masts, 220. Weymouth pine , extensive woods of, and where found, 221. the Larch a useful species of this genus, 221. yields the Venice turpentine, 222. common tur- pentine collected from the fir — manner in which this is effected by the Italian peasants, 223. resin, pitch, and tar, the produce of different species of fir, 224. manner of obtaining these pro- ducts—nourishment derived from the fir by the Laplanders, 224 — 229. Siberian ermine hunters use the inner bark as a sub- stitute for yeast, 230. Fishes, description of their scales, ii. 115. those provided with the greatest number of fins not always the quickest swimmers — uses of the fins, 110. how respiration is performed, 11 7. the air-bladder — sense of smelling, 118, 1 19. organ of hearing — sense of seeing, 120, mutually plunder and devour each other — their great fecundity, 121. lives of fishes extended to a greater length than other animals, 122. Flexible Marble. See Marble. Flos Ferri. See Stalactites. Flying Dragon described, ii, 39. where found — manners, 40. im- positions respecting, 41. Flying-fish, description and manners, ii. 187, 188. Fly, pendulous, exhibits a striking example of contrivance, ii. 405. their singular formation — and mode of respiring, 406. passage of the larva to the perfect fly — All flies contain parts worthy of observation — exemplified in the common fly, 407- the eyes — the legs, 408. the trunk, 469. Fly, Spanish. See Oil Beetle. Fluor Spar, its form, iii. 375. its different colours and phospho- rescent property — possesses an acid which dissolves flint, 370. where found, 3 77- uses to which it is applied, 3 79. Fox, arctic, easily caught in a trap — endure the extreme cold of Spitsbergen, i. 184. description, 185. singular account of their manners, 185 — IS9. their residence, food, and the manner of catching them in Greenland— the fox equally cunning in all countries — manners of our common fox, I89, 190- three varieties found in the mountainous parts of our islands, 191. INDEX. 589 Fresh-water Polype, nearly allied in appearance to a plant, ii. 011. where found, 012. description and manners, 012, 0 13. how propagated, 6 14. wonderful reproductive power, 015. exem- plified, 010, 617. Frigate, obliges the booby to be his caterer, i. 557 . Dampier’s ac- count of them — description, 558. nest, eggs, and young, 55Q. esteemed for their feathers, 500. Frog, its spawn traced from a black globule to a perfect frog, ii. 17> 18. mode of feeding, 19. adhere to the backs of fishes — become torpid in severe cold, 20. are very tenacious of life — Edible frog described — sold in the markets abroad — method of preserving them during the winter, 21. Bullfrog, the largest of the whole tribe — its loud croaking— where found, 22. anec- dote of its agility, 23. Tree frog, a singular animal— manner of catching its prey, 24. singular manners — account of two of these animals tamed by Dr. Townson, 24, 25. struggle be- tween a tree frog and a snake, 27. the respiration of frogs de- scribed, 28. G. Gad-fly, dreaded by our cattle, ii. 452. deposits its eggs in their backs, 453. terror excited by these insects — the egg and maggot, account of, 454. Bots, what— number of marks in a hide a cri- terion of its goodness, 455. Horse gad-fly, history of, 450. sometimes found in the stomach of the ass, 459. the different species of this genus make their attack on different animals sheep tormented by them, 401. The Zimb of Mr. Bruce sup- posed to belong to this genus, 402. account of, 403, 404. Galena. See Lead. Gall-insect found on the oak leaf, ii. 385. gall-nut described- opening through which the fly escapes, 3S0. best galls, from whence brought, 3S7. most plants pierced by a species of gall- insect, 388. Gannet described, i. 501. where found— account of one killed at Chandour near JMouutsbay in Cornwall, 502. immense numbers 5.90 INDEX. about the rocks of St. Kilda, 563. nest, eggs, and young- dried gannets occasionally brought to the London markets — in- habitants of St. Kilda hazard their lives in pursuit of them, 563, 5b4. fowling from above, 565. fowling from below, 565. Garden Spider. See Spider. Garnet, varies more than any other gem, iii. 402. Carbuncle what — where found — black garnets met with in different situations, 403 workshops in Bohemia and in Brisgaw for cutting gar- nets, 404. Giraffe, the tallest animal in the world, i. 42. described, 43. con- stitutes a particular and solitary genus— Bulfon’s account of the Giraffe, 44. his food and manner of feeding — his figure repre- sented on the Prenestine pavement, 45. Glimmer-chafer, a common inhabitant of our brooks and rivers, ii . 269 eggs — larva described, 2/0. Glow-worm, male and female very opposite — described — light in the tail phosphoric — its use, ii. 287- Gnat, passes through three different states — larva common in stagnant water, ii. 470. eggs, larva, chrysalis, and fly, 47 1. wonderful formation of the trunk, 472. its uses — passes the winter in caves and holes, 472, 473. Musquito, history of the, 474, 475. Goat-sucker, i. 509. its habits and singular note— very common in the mountainous parts of America, 510. Indians consider it as ominous — European species supposed to have originated from America— its note, 511. Goat. See ild Goat. Goose, wild geese, their flight, i. 535. where found— in some places are wild in summer, and domestic in winter, 536. fea- thers a great article of traffic— order observed with the geese in Lincolnshire and Somersetshire, 537- plucking a cruel opera- tion, 538. cagmags, what, and why so called — Canada goose ac- count of, 539. Snow goose, the ridiculous manner of catching, 540. exceeded by the method by which the Kamtschatkans take the perroquet hawk, 541 Goose, Bernacle. See Bernacle Goose. INDEX. 591 Gold, where found, and under what form, iii. 480. large piece discovered in Ireland — generally alloyed with other metals, 481. gold mines, account of— properties of gold, 482—485 evapo- rates in the focus of a powerful burning-glass, 486. Auru/n fulminans , a dangerous preparation, 487 Goshawk described, i. 3t)5 difficult to tame, 3g6 Han ks used in falconry, 397 manner of taking and training hawks for the field -flying at the fur, what, 398—401. antiquity of hawking, 403. interesting account of the common buzzard, 404 — 407- Gossamer Spider. See Spider. Granite forms the pavement of our carriage-ways, iii 424. the most antient of all rocks, 425. oriental granite, account of, 42(). granite of Ingria much Used at Petersburg, 42/. graphic gra- nite, 428. - Grave-digging Beetle, its very singular manners described, ii. 272 — 276. where found, 277. Grosbeak, i. 482. singular formation of its nest, 4S3. Bengal grosbeak, interesting account of, by sir Wrn. Jones, 483 — 485. Grotto of Antiparos. See Stalactites. Grotto del Cane. See Minerals. Grouse. See Ruffed Grouse. Guana, where found, ii. 51. description and manners- Indian mode of catching them, 52. account of, by Catesby, 53. live a considerable time without food, 54. difference between the male and female — eggs reckoned a delicacy, 55. H. Hamster, a detestable little animal, i. 309. habitations de- scribed, 310 female exceedingly prolific, but an unnatural mother — method of stocking the magazine, 511. hamster- hunting— the animal found torpid in the winter, 312. cold alone not the cause of his torpidity — manner in which he re- vives in the spring— his ferocity, 313. swarm in some parts of Europe, and destroy great quantities of grain, 314. Haematite Iron Ore. See Iron. 592 INDEX. Hare, i. 2 67. Mr. Cowper’s account of, 268 — 273. Hawk. See Goshawk. Hercules Beetle, described — where found — habits, ii. 250. its large size, 251. Hermit Crab. See Crab. Heron, i. 523. described — his habits, 524. great destroyer of fish — Willoughby’s receipt for taking him, 525. frequently suffers from abstinence, 526. nestles in the tallest trees — eggs — will sometimes occupy the nest of another bird rather than build a new one — a dispute between the herons and the rooks, 527. heron-hawking once a favourite diversion, 328. * Not to know a hawk from a hand-saw,’ whence derived, 52 9. Herring, a fish of passage, ii. 193. their progress — their winter quarters, 193, 194. enemies which they meet with in their annual voyage — visit to our shores described, 195. may be caught with a trout fly — very prolific, 197. fishery, how car- ried on — the Dutch extravagantly fond of herrings, 198. Hippopotamus, an amphibious animal — grazes during the night, and does great damage to the plantations, i. 96. walks with great ease at the bottom of the water — described, 97. the places he inhabits — Zerenghi’s account of two hippopotami taken alive, 98. mode of destroying them in the Caffre coun- try— another method, by Hasselquist, 99. have been known to sink a boat — singular account of a hippopotamus and calf, 100. Hog, Ethiopian. See Ethiopian Hog. Honey-bird, See Cuckoo. Hooping Crane. See Crane. Horse, seems better to deserve the title of king of beasts than the lion, i. 1. Arabia famous for its horses — the kind manner in which these useful animals are treated by the Arabians — their prodigious swiftness, 2. and tractability — anecdote of the great attachment which the Arabians have for their horses, 3. mares more serviceable to the Arabians than horses— his noble qua- lities, 4. pack-horses formerly much employed — obstinately observe the line of their order — an instance of their perse- verance, 5. House spider. See Spider. INDEX. 593 Humming-bird, i. 455. its diminutive size — Indians’ opinion re- specting it — its flight and manner of collecting honey, 456. subject to violent passions — nest described, 457* tame ones, an account of, 458. Indians of Mexico and Peru made pictures of the feathers, 45 9. Hyaena, an instance of two tame ones, i. 195. hyaena in Exeter ’Change described — is naturally savage, unsociable, and solitary, 196. is insatiably voracious — abounds in Gondah, 197* a visit from a hyaena described by Bruce — a great coward in the da - time, 198. ridiculous notions respecting the hyaena — spotted hycena inhabits the Cape of Good Hope — howls dreadfully in the night-time, 199. his predaceous disposition exemplified, 200. attends the shambles at the Cape in the night-time for the sake of the offal — anecdote by Dr Sparrman, 201. Hydrophane, its singular property, iii. 409. called oculus v Hindi, or lapis mutabilis, 410. account of — where found, 410, 411. 1. Ibex, mode of hunting the, i. 36. Ichneumon, account of a tame one, i. 256. found wild in Asia and Africa — his prey, what, 2 57. description — venerated by the Egyptians — great enemy to the crocodile, 258. impatient of cold — his natural habits, 259. Indigo, principally cultivated for its colouring property, iii. 187. described, 188. manner of extracting the colouring matter, 189- African indigo reckoned the best — mode of making indigo in Senegal, 190. in Asia— in China, 191. in Agra, 192. culti- vation of the indigo plant in America, 193. at the Cape of Good Hope, 194, 195. Insects worthy our attention, ii. 235. their brilliant colours— ac- count of their different parts, 236. proceed from a germ which contains the insect in miniature, 238. contrivances of the fe- males to secure their eggs from injury, 239. remarkable in- stinctive faculty exemplified, 240, 241. larva described chry- salis, what— spin a little sepulchre, 243. and how, 214. manner of disengaging itself from its prison— industry of the young cater- vol. hi. 2 a 594 INDEX. pillars which swarm in apple-trees, bushes, &:c. 24 5. explanation of the seven Linnaean orders of insects, 246 — 248. Iron, its great utility, iii. 516. native iron, where found, 518,519. Hccmatite iron ore— Crystallized iron ore — White spat hose iron ore — Argillaceous iron stone , 520. mine of Danemora, account of, 522. mines of Siberia, 524. furnace and smelting: de- scribed, 525. sows and pigs of iron — malleable iron, how made, 52 6. J. Jackall, where found, i. 192. description and voracious manners — called thaleb in Barbary — described by Sonini, 192, 193. his cautious retreat, 194. Jerboa, where found, i. 298. description and habits — their bur- rows, 299. singular manner in which they sleep — seem very sensible of cold, 300. their food — supposed by Mr. Pennant to be the two-footed mice of the Egyptians — a new species dis- covered by general Davies— a very active, animal, 301. how found — torpid in the winter, 302. its size in a sleeping posture, 303. K. Kingfisher, the handsomest bird in our climate — its brilliant co- lours described, i. 449. its habits, 450. and nest, 451. an ob- ject of superstitious veneration, 452. halcyon days, why so called, 454. L. Lantern-fly, ii. 321. account of their light — where found — used by the natives to light them on the road, 322. described, 322, 323. Laurel, a celebrated plant, iii. 118. general description — cul- tivated as an ornament in our gardens, 11 9. Cinnamon- tree, particular account of, 120 — 128. Camphor-tree described, 128. INDEX. 595 manner of obtaining the camphor, 129. mode of purifying it, 130. Lead, native, its existence denied, iii.537. Galena described, 538. Lead ore, different kinds of — mines of Derbyshire, 53Q. Odin mine described — Speedwell level, account of, 541, principal mines in France, where situated, 544. of Germany and Spain, 545. Sheet-lead, how made — White lead, process of preparing, 546'. Red lead manufactured in Derbyshire, and how, 547. Lemur, i. 158. his description and manners, 16O — 164. Lion, i. 202. his apparent generosity accounted for —lions of Mount Atlas weaker than those of Africa— daily decrease in numbers, 203. general description, 204. manner of taking his prey, 205. a Hottentot chased by a lion — who prefers his flesh to that of any other creature, 204 — 20 7. his appearance when enraged — his battles with the buffalo, 207, 208. escape of a Hottentot, 209. singular fate of Jacobus Bota, 210. the lion supports hunger better than thirst — produces but once a year, 211. their longevity, 212. undaunted behaviour of Jacob Kok — hunting the lion described, 213, 214, 215. effect of the roar- ing of the lion in the night upon other animals, 21 6. Lion-ant lives by rapine, ii. 3/ 1 . his stratagem— described — his sandy habitation, 379- singular contrivance to catch his prey, 380. his care to remove dead carcases from his haunt, 381. his patience and long abstinence — passage into the state of a chrysa- lis, 382. assumes the form of a beautiful dragon-fly, 384. Lobster, how caught — extremely prolific, ii. 542. sizeable lob- sters, what — use of their claws, 543. ova or eggs — when a hen lobster is unfit for the table, 544. pine before casting their shells— marks of a good lobster — bait used in taking lobsters, 545. take surprising leaps when alarmed — occasionally taken of a very large size, 546. cast their claws on a great clap of thunder : jocular threat of the sailors on meeting a lobster-boat, 547. Locust, commits terrible ravages in the warmer parts of the world, ii. 3(X). their destructive visitations, account of— met with in Africa by Mr. Barrow, 309—312. their ravages de- scribed— a large sort publicly sold in the Eastern markets, 2 a 2 b9 Timber Beetle, account of, ii. 283. the larva of a species of this genus eaten in the West Indies, 285. Tin, native, its existence doubted, iii. 527- gold occasionally found with tin, 528. tin ore, where found, 52(y mines of Cornwall, account of — of Saxony, 52y — 533. of Bohemia, 534. its fusi- bility— and use, 535. Block tin, what, 53(5. Titmouse. See Penduline Titmouse. Toad, the most detested of reptiles — possesses brilliant eyes, ii. 30. spawn — becomes familiar when encouraged — exemplified in a toad belonging to Mr. Arscott, 31. seldom come from their holes in the heat of the day, 33. toads occasionally used to cure cancer — are extremely numerous in America, 34. Surinam toad, a most extraordinary animal, singular account of, 35 — 37- Topaz. See Ruby. Torpedo, its wonderful power — its influence exaggerated, ii. 212. description, 213. curious experiments relative to its electrical property — singular fact by Spallanzani, 214— 217- electric or- gans described, 218. Tortoise, arrives at a great age, ii. 3. described, 4. its manners in a domestic state, interesting account of, 5. its food, 7. eggs and young — endure long abstinence — cruel experiment of F. Redi, 7, 8. Turbot, where found, ii. 159. fishery and baits described, 16O — 103. Turtle, abundant in the West Indies, ii. 10. manner of catching in the Bahama islands, 11. and on the coast of Guinea, 12. manners, 13. eggs and young, 13, 14. turtle become an ar- ticle of commerce — when introduced into this country, 15. V. Vallisneria, where found, iii. 258. singular manner by which the species are propagated, 259. Varnish-tree, where found, iii. 94. its poisonous nature, 95. Chinese varnish-tree described, 97. interesting account ofA 97 —100. Vampire Bat. See Bat. 2 R VOL. III. 6io INDEX. Vermilion. See Mercury. Venus Fly-trap, one of the wonders of the vegetable creation, f iii. 135. its very curious property, 136. a species of dogs’ bane described, 136, 137- Vine, common, the most important of all the different kinds, iii. 83. historical account of— abundance of grapes produced in China, 84 — 88. Emperor Taitsou, his good reason for not drinking wine, 89. Viper, the only poisonous animal in Great Britain, ii. 89- how distinguished from the common snake — eggs and young, 90. fangs described — venom quickly fatal to small animals exem- plified, 91. William Oliver the viper-catcher, account of, 92. they never attack mankind unless provoked — method of catch- ing, 94. formerly much used in medicine, 95. Virginian Deer, inhabit the southern province of Canada — are subject to worms in their heads and throats, i. 64. are fond of salt, 65. singularities observed in the chase of these animals, 65—67. are provided with singular vents at the inner corner of each eye, 68. Vulture, of great use in hot climates, i 3 75. where found— their manner of devouring a carcase, 376. decrease in number in proportion to the coldness of the climate, 3 77. destroy the eggs of alligators, 378. are very stinking birds, 379. W. Walrus, arctic, i. 320. description and habits, 321 . captain Cook’s account of the walrus, 322. • Oclher presents king Alfred with some teeth of the walrus, 323. uses of the walrus— combats with the Polar bear, 323, 324. Lord Shouldham’s account of the walrus, 325, 326. Wasp, ii. 393. particular description of the nest, 395 — 398. eggs and young, 3 99. passage of the insect through the chrysalis state, 400. cruelty to their young, 401. great foecundity of the female, 402. Wasp, Sand. See Sand Wasp. Water-newt, common in ponds, ii. 67. description and manners, INDEX. 6*11 68. manner in which it changes its skin, 68, 69. cast-skin swallowed by the newt — eggs and young, 70. possess a repro- ductive power, 71- Water Ouzel, i. 479. a very extraordinary bird, 480. where found, 4 SI. Water Spider. See Spider. Wax-tree, where found— its produce, iii. 269. manner of pre- paring the wax described, 270. wax collected by the Chinese, account of, 27 1 — 273. Whale, described — justly afraid of the sword-fish, ii. 124. a strong instance of their affection for each other, 125. female suckles her young at her breast — her attachment for them, 126. Green- landers’ mode of catching whales, 127. manner in which the whale-fishery is carried on by the Europeans — flesh and fat eaten by the northern people, 128 — 130. a first-rate delicacy with the Kamtschatkans at their brutish feasts, 131. White Ants, form a republic governed by its own lau s— are greatly feared by the inhabitants of tropical countries for the mischief they do, ii. 477- circumstantial account of their wonderful ceconomy, by Mr. Smeathman, 477 — 511. Termts pulsatorius, a species of this genus, 512. White Owl, i. 414. See Owl. Wild Goat, described, i. 35. assemble in small flocks, and feed on the highest parts of the mountains-— the chase of these ani- mals attended with great danger, 36. reason for describing the chamois under the same head as the wild goat, 37. its de- scription and manners, 37, 38. their great agility and mode of descending precipices, 39. hunting the chamois described, 40. Wild Goose. See Goose. Wild Sheep, inhabit the mountainous regions of cold climates, i. 30. singular difference between this and the domestic kind, — immense size of their horns, 31. great dangers w'hich the Kamtschatkans undergo in the chase of these animals — their fu- rious combats, 32. are very fond of salt — licking-places, what are easily tamed when young, 33. Wild Swan, i. 530. where found — description — chased by the na- tives of Iceland, 531. use of their plumage and skin — supposed 612 INDEX. by the antients to be melodious, 532. description of this fabu- lous quality, 533. Black swan, 534. Wolf, a savage and cowardly animal, i. 177- has a natural an- tipathy to a dog — their habitations —and voracious manners — formerly abundant in America — likewise in England during the Saxon government, 178. and in some counties in the reign of Edward the First — bring forth their young in the most retired parts of the forest — their number at a litter — are born blind, 179- trained to be savage by their parents— method em- ployed to destroy wolves in Germany — possesses an exquisite sense of smelling, 180. and disinters the dead— wolf-hunting described, 181. a wolf reared by Buffon, account of — is only valuable on account of his skin, 182. Z. Zimb. See Gad-fly. Zoophytes, what, ii. 602. ERRATA. VOL. I. Page 61, line 16, for northern read southern. 1 IS, 2, — his trunk read its trunk. 128, — 28, — Mr. Luke read .VIr. Leeke. Vol. II. £14, line 18, after which, add species. Vol. III. 248, line 24, for ioeracea read oleracea. 370, 11, — granit read granite. S73, 15, — Ekaterinbug, read Ekaterinburg. 467, 24, — fleue read flue. Wherever Brogniart occurs read Brongniart. Richard Taylor and Co. Primers, Shoe-Lane. . . ' ' . ' ' ’ - • f \ I